Dear Resident,
‘When in doubt, ask the reader’, goes a popular journalistic mantra. Over six weeks have elapsed since we asked and many readers have already wondered aloud whatever happened to all their inputs. Really, the volume and variety were overwhelming, warranting enormous time and toil, albeit pleasurable, for the Talk team to sift, sort and study the feedback. Still we could have saved two weeks had it not been for my insistence to read every one of the letters. I could not resist the professional temptation and I must say I feel dwarfed by the readers’ interest, intellect and intricate knowledge. Thanks for all the enlightenment and importantly, thanks for putting us in place. And here is the Action Taken/To-Be-Taken Report!
Some inferences merit mention. The bulk of feedback was Talk-specific and so too shall the changes be. Clearly, despite the obvious commonalities, there is no one-model-fits-all formula. The profile and problems of Anna Nagar and Nanganallur are different. A neighbourhood media should recognise and reflect this distinction, despite coming out from the same stable. Point taken. So trust every Talk to cast a more penetrative gaze than before into it’s backyard. In this we solicit a greater degree of residents’ participation. While a good part of the present local coverage have happened at your behest, in the form of telephonic tips, SMSs, e-mails and letters, they are not adequate. Therefore, to enable you to do more, we shall have a user-friendly ‘Noticeboard’ section wherein you can post/paste your specific street/civic problem in brief. This will be a sort of window of woes for the authorities to peep in. Action, of course, is something that even the Almighty cannot guarantee.
The first Talk, TNagar, was born in August, 2004 and the fourteenth of the siblings, Chrompet, was delivered in July, 2008. Talks were born at regular intervels in-between. Now, there were many topics that were launched, ran their course, and then called it a day, sorry, week, in the earlier Talks like TNagar or Adyar, much before newer Talks came into being. For instance, a half-page photo feature was a regular, but was discontinued because we ran out of places to be photographed and also several readers saw it as a lazy ruse to fill space. Many suggestions from the later Talks, at least 6 of the 14, fall in this category. So some of those features can reincarnate in the new Talks and also get resurrected in the senior ones, on the assumption that the short public memory will not recognise the old wine. Dont hesitate to call our bluff, though.
The household is the target unit, the key entity, for Talk. While general/civic issues impact men and women alike, the latter deserve greater articulation, not as a chivalrous charity that presumes superiority but in the enlightened self-interest of the society itself, owing to the multiple roles they play thanks to biological, social and economic factors. Gender demography impacts a home and its immediate neighbourhood more than it does the macro democracy. It is our firm belief that the much needed, much touted emancipation can happen only with a grassroots approach, not a top down model, like quotas, and Talk with its access to lakhs of homes can play a major role here. A reader last week has quoted Indira Gandhi thus: ‘Men have sight, women have insight’. The slight on men nothwithstanding, we propose (at the risk of sounding like Pranabda’s budget speech) to have an All-Women’s section that will be local vis-a-vis personalities and sweeping w.r.t to issues concerning them, with no threat of disruption from the likes of Lalu! Obviously, the issues that matter to women will matter to my ilk, the unfair sex, too.
The two general interest columns, PB and CC, have received bouquets and brickbats and we are grateful for both. But we owe an explanation to the latter, most of whom have questioned the columns’ relevance in a neighbourhood paper. We genuinely believe every local resident is also a citizen of many larger communities, including the country and so a view beyond his/her area horizon can do no harm. Not convinced? Well, the weekly verbal beat helps my mate and me earn our rice and roti and we can brook no harm to them, period! So, CC will keep ticking and tickling as long as the crank’s laughing stocks last, which however look bountiful.
As for PB, let me stretch for some personal effect. I lay no claim to profound punditry or academic acumen. The occasional preachy tone is certainly not from the pedestal but from the pavement. Even that is only a plea, despite the seeming aggression. It is often an emotional outburst of anger and frustration at the happenings around that everyone of you experience but have no means to express. And the inevitable futility of it all evokes the sarcasm that all of you are eminently capable of. I am different from you only in the fact that I have access to a media. Some have said the column has become repetitive and the targets, familiar. ‘We know what you think, so move on’, is the curt message. Repetition was a virtue till a few years back, but with online access to archives, I too see no point in firing blanks at the usual suspects. The professional craving to rise above Ks, Js and sundry other punching bags is also a challenge now, thanks to the critiques. Also, my wife is a K and it doesn’t help that I am J. Let the nation handle its J&K problems. So, for the sake of harmony at home and greener writing pastures beyond, a respite it shall be. Of course, I can always come back to them anytime, for I am pretty sure nothing will change, in the short, long or eternal run. Specifically, there will be no respite for those wanting to evict me although I shall strive to be leaner, as a few have advised.
I have mentioned a few, but many changes, in content as well as cosmetics, are in the offing, in tune with your expectations. Some of them have been listed aside and the forthcoming issues will reveal more. For, this overhaul can only be seamless, not sudden. Maybe, if you compare the issues of Jan-end and April-end, the shift will be apparent. In any case, change is like a river in flow and it is never the same water at any point. But what shall remain changeless is our commitment to you, your needs and your aspirations.
As a profit-oriented business venture, Talk is plain media. At the professional and patriotic plane, it is certainly a media with a mission. But with you at the vanguard, it becomes a movement.
And thanks again for giving us fresh momentum!
Yours truly,
T.R.Jawahar & Talk Team
e-mail the writer at [email protected]