The Herald of A New Ethos
R.K. NairR.K. Nair sees himself as a battle-scarred veteran too
(adding, "though close friends in Goa may describe me
as bottle-scarred"). He has 'seen action' in Kuwait and
Iraq after his departure from Goa. Back in India after
the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, he worked for the Indian
Express. He then went to Oman, returning again to take
up an assignment with the Hindu, where he currently
works.
So the Rajan era has finally come to an end at the Herald
. Sad though it may seem in human terms, it is unlikely
to surprise anyone who has at least a nodding
acquaintance with his brand of journalism -- especially
his strident and sensational approach to contentious
issues, such as the language agitation of the 'eighties.
By the time I arrived in Goa, the Herald (formerly O Heraldo
) had celebrated the third anniversary of its
re-incarnation as an Englishman -- but it was not yet
out of the birth pangs. It often looked like a one-man
show. The six-to-eight page broad-sheet was Rajan
Narayan's play-field, and he played with gusto -- solo
at times, fast and loose frequently. His output was
phenomenal. He wrote the lead story, the front-page
anchor, the edit almost everyday, six days a week, for
several years. Besides, there also was the long-winded
'Stray Thoughts', on Sundays.
Life at The Navhind Times was sedentary by comparison.
In keeping with the image of Goa being a land of
laid-back lotus eaters, the NT staffers were under no
pressure to perform. Being the dominant daily, news
came naturally to the NT. In those days, it operated
out of a small rented building, adjoining a bar and
restaurant, on the outskirts of Panjim as the new
building near the Panjim market was under construction.
The bar and the building belonged to the then Mayor of Panjim,
an affable man whose employees entertained the NT
staffers on credit. The editorial staff got an off-day
after two days of work -- that's 10 offs a month, which
was a luxury that journalists in other papers could not
dream of.
The first thing that struck one about the
English-language Press in Goa in those days was its
utter lack of respect for the readers' intelligence.
I'm sorry if this view offends anyone, but the
small-town mentality, the self-serious posturing and
the patronising editorialisation of news reports were
all too obvious in both the NT and Herald.
But there ended the similarity. In other respects, the
two papers were a study in contrast. Herald was
technologically superior. Having introduced computers
ahead of the NT, its printing was neater but the paper
was replete with errors -- typographical as well as
factual. The NT too had its share of typos. But it made
few factual errors, because, as critics would say, it
seldom reported facts!
The NT used vintage Lino machines for composing and its
antiquated printing machine broke down quite often. The
morning paper hit the news-stands well after 10 am on
such occasions. The printing was awful -- full of black
patches, missing letters and blank spaces that
challenged the imagination of the reader. Still it
retained its readership, mainly because it was
perceived as the more credible of the two.
Rajan Narayan failed to rise to the occasion and offer
a credible alternative. Herald behaved like a spoilt
brat throwing tantrums. It lacked a sense of
proportion. Too often, it played to the gallery, fanned
sectarian passions and threw norms to the wind. With
its rabble-rousing shrillness, Herald managed to gain a
foothold among a section of the Goan population,
especially in South Goa where the NT was perennially
late to arrive. But Herald was not taken seriously even
by its ardent supporters. Journalist Devika Sequeira
once summed up the situation neatly: Herald was
laughable and the NT evoked tears!
All that changed with the arrival of the Gomantak Times
. The NT Chief Reporter Pramod Khandeparker quit to
join the GT. The NT was jolted out of its complacency
-- it was facing a challenge it had never faced before.
Work on the new building was speeded up, and the
relocation carried out in a hurry. Computers were
installed and a new printing machine was ready.
But all that was not enough to ward off a threat from
the rivals. Its content had to improve. Acting Editor
M.M. Mudaliar was in a bad mood. His calm and composed
disposition gave way to a brittle temper. He yelled at
the management people, and threatened to have the
editorial staff sacked.
One day, I diffidently approached him with a piece of
writing and asked for permission to launch a column in
the Sunday supplement. He was reluctant. I was new and
untested. And I was not even a regular -- I was on
voucher payment. But he decided to give it a try and
carried the piece on the front page of the Sunday
Magazine. It was titled 'A peep into Goan psyche'. The
column was called 'Small Talk' and it appeared under
the pseudonym of R.K. Yen. The response to the first
piece was incredibly good. Mudaliar readily published
the second one and, when the third piece appeared, I
got the appointment order.
By then Mudaliar had been confirmed as Editor and the
paper was ready to face the world with new vigour. The
editorial offs were curtailed to once a week. The
printing improved and new features and columns were
gradually introduced. The NT had arrived. The threat
from GT looked feeble now. They had good journalists
and better technology, but had forgotten to hire good
proof-readers. The paper was full of typos, even in
headlines.
The NT was relieved -- at least temporarily.
The arrival of GT had a big impact on the Herald too.
Rajan Narayan began to behave like one possessed. He
blamed Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane and the NT for
all the ills of the world. His frustration was
beginning to show. He railed against the NT and Rane at
the drop of a hat. Once, two people were killed in
police-firing in Vasco following a group clash. It was
the lead in the next day's NT, but the Herald
completely missed the news.
A reader's letter was published in Herald a few days
later: "Where was your reporter when the firing took
place in Vasco? Had he gone to Baina for a quickie?"
The Editor's reply: "We don't enjoy the patronage of
Chief Minister Pratapsing Raoji Rane. So we missed the news."
(As if Rane had called in the NT and given out the news!)
Rajan Narayan is essentially a rhetorician. He has a
way with words and can argue his case convincingly. But
his writings carried little conviction, which was the
major reason for Herald's credibility crisis in those
days. But the fact that he changed the media scene
there cannot be disputed. In my view, the fundamental
error he made was to plunge into the middle of things,
rather than remaining a level-headed observer that a
good journalist is supposed to be. He made an
over-zealous effort to ingratiate himself with a
section of the Goan society and failed miserably. The
fact that even today his Goan credentials are
questioned bears this out.
As everything has two sides, the Herald experiment (if
one could call it that) too had its pros and cons. The
single most significant achievement of Herald, in my
opinion, was to raise a breed of bright young
journalists who cut their teeth in journalism there.
Most of them left disillusioned and bitter with the
paper and its Editor, but they have done reasonably
well elsewhere. But for Herald, they would not have
come to this field.
And Herald did manage to provide some relief (comic
relief, according to critics) from the tedious fare
offered by the NT. It was sharp and pungent -- too
pungent for many. Almost every report packed a sting in
its tail. Some of the fare dished out in the guise of
investigative journalism was just gossip laced with
outrageous bias. But all this lighted the scene up and
served as a reminder to the NT to wake up and take notice.
Rajan Narayan never hesitated to name his rivals,
especially the NT, while making disparaging remarks.
The NT, on the other hand, took a diametrically
opposite stance: it skirted controversies altogether.
Its unwritten policy was never to report or comment on
anything controversial, let alone naming names!
But that had to change to keep pace with the changing
times. I lampooned Rajan Narayan in my columns
occasionally, which Mudaliar permitted reluctantly. It
must be said to Rajan Narayan's credit that he not only
took my pot-shots in good humour, but, according to
Herald sources, also stopped a couple of juniors who
wanted to hit back at me.
I met Rajan Narayan only once; but then it was hardly a
meeting. Rather, I saw him from a distance at a
midnight carnival in Panjim. After the edition was
over, my NT colleague Anthony and I decided to take a
round. We saw Rajan Narayan surrounded by a group of
revellers. In a red T-shirt and bermudas, with a red
ribbon around his head and a glass of feni in hand, a
wobbly Rajan Narayan with bleary eyes was quite a
spectacle. Anthony nudged me and asked, "Can you
imagine Mudaliar in such a scene?"
Never. Mudaliar was, by comparison, dapper. In fact,
his first advice to me when I called on him for a job
interview was to be always mindful of my reputation.
"It's a small place. Everybody knows everybody. And
liquor is cheap here," he had said.
I left Goa rather bitterly.
I fell out with Mudaliar over an innocuous remark in my
column. I used to report the traditional cricket match
between the legislators and journalists in the column
in a running commentary form. That year (1989), the
Legislators XI led by Chief Minister Rane trounced the
Press XI, led by Mudaliar. I made a passing remark that
age was apparently catching up with Mudaliar. He deemed
it too personal, and stopped talking to me. There were
enough people around to fan the fire; and he refused to
recommend me for a promotion. One thing led to another
and I soon decided that my future lay elsewhere.
But I've no hard feelings about anything now. In fact,
I recall my days in Goa with nostalgia and gratitude.
It was a turning point in my career and I fondly
remember my association with a wonderful people. I
learned many things in Goa that stood me in good stead
in later life and it will always remain etched in my
memory as a part of my youth.
I wish all my friends and acquaintances over there,
especially Rajan Narayan, good health and success in
whatever they are engaged in now! I learnt of
Mudaliar's death quite recently through an e-mail. I
was saddened. I fondly recall my association with him.
Despite the differences of opinion that resulted in our
parting of ways, Mudaliar was a thorough gentleman and
working with him was an enriching experience. I cherish
his memories!