MUMBAI BLASTS - Tracking Thoughts

So is this going to be one more day that most Indians will have to remember with regret, like so many other days? But of course !!

Sitting in Oxford, Ohio I feel helpless because I am unable to reach a journalist friend working in Mumbai. The phones lines are not working. I tried to call her from US and also got a relative to call her number from India. No response. A mail has been sent but her turn-around time has never been remarkable. I can just wait patiently.

The last time I was chatting with her was when she was in some cyber café in rural Maharashtra trying to send some JPEG file to the Indian Express office that was not going through. I am sure she is fine but i am just waiting to hear from her.

This blog however is neither on my friend nor on the blast so to speak. My concern is to report how the internet/news websites is just a much hyped media tool.

Some facts that I find shocking –
1.Telegraph and Statesman Websites DO NOT even report the blasts. (5 p.m. EST, 2:30 AM
India, 12 th June)
2.On NDTV's page they have a larger section on what PM or the Home Ministry
has to say about these blasts ( Mind it – the content is utterly unimportant, as I
will point out later ) than about the blasts temselves.
3.CNN-IBN got lucky because it had its journalist, Jency Jacob commuting in one of the trains
that faced the disastrous fate. However it does not mention anything about arrests that were
made immediately after the blasts in Delhi. CNN mentioned this arrest.
4.Patil mentions that the intelligence had 'some' information but not enough to prevent it. NONE
of the websites ask the question as to why was such information, however vague, not shared
with the public.
5. Times Of India is the only website that is still talking about the Lashkar e Taiba and SIMI as being responsible for these blasts. The fact that no other website writes about it strikes the reader as odd.

Some corrections that can possible make my criticism constructive ( This corresponds with the 5 facts mentioned above) ---

1. If CNN and BBC can cover the blasts why is it so difficult for Statesman and Telegraph to do the same?
2. NDTV could do without it. They have these glaring captions “BREAKING NEWS” and to read that news you have to scroll down so many times.
3. CNN-IBN is part of CNN and yet they did not have the news of the arrest. It might not mean anything but to the reader every piece of information should be provided.
4. Had the news about possible attack been shared with the public, a life or two could have been saved. I am just arguing that it is a possibility. An alert for Goa has been announced today. Why not one for Mumbai…a few days back?
5. The other websites could at best address the issue of the SIMI et al having master minded this attack. A mention of it would also be appreciated.

As disclaimer I would like to point out that I am not trying to prove, as is amply evident I hope, that one website is better than the other. I am just trying to present a general picture of how the internet as a media for news has a long way to go before it can call itself consider itself successful. The drawback had never bothered me so much as it does today. There are many like me who have no access to the television and are looking up internet sites to have some information on the blasts. There is a plethora of information available but there are some serious questions that can still be raised as to how the blasts have been covered.

What I find lacking most in all these reports about the blast, is a human face. Are we making any progress as far as media is concerned, in reporting these events? I do not see anything new. This is not the 1990's when there was no portable satellite or there was no instant connectivity.

So what is it exactly that irks me? I looked up many websites today, even the ones that I do not usually browse. I am just struck by the amount of importance that is given to what the dignitaries have to say about the blasts. They have nothing new to say. With the amount of mishaps that keep taking place in the country even the PM is running out of fresh condolence messages. "My heart reaches out to all those affected by these blasts". Well ! What else? Sonia Gandhi thinks that the event is 'dastardly'. Vilasrao has asked citizens to 'not venture out’ unless necessary but the Home Ministry feels that life should go on as usual and a national alarm is not required.

Is all this really important ??? I do not for once question the genuineness of these remarks by the politicians but does the need for the publicity of that emotion supercede the actual reporting of the event? NO.

I have raised more questions than I have bothered to answer but sometimes I think pertinent questions can prove to be very emphatic. I would like to end on the PM’s statement --

PM further points out with reference to Kashmir blasts that it was a 'cowardly attempt'.
--When have attempts by terrorists been BRAVE ?
-- There is fear in our hearts. The terrorists have succeeded in doing what they wished to do. It was no attempt.

It is time that the nation wakes up and makes the administration more responsible. It is time that the public breaks free from the shackles of media-controlled knowledge. The coverage of the Mumbai Blasts was a good indication that journalism ( internet ) after all is just another business.'Responsible journalism' is a mere dream.

Websites perused for this blog –
Indian Express, CNN, BBC, NDTV, CNN-IBN, Statesman, Telegraph and Times of India.

SWEETHEART


Yes, it has been very very long. It is not that I did not have thoughts to share but I did not find the words to express all of it. Maybe not here, but I have done some writing. Am working hard on my proposal, now that it is aided by a fresh volume of notes imported from the British Library.

I am sure I do not have to report happenings of my life or thoughts in a chronological fashion on this blog. This means I might talk about my London experience later on. This blog is about my new sweetheart.

I was definitely not in love with it the first time I saw it but I still brought it home with me. I wish the seat was higher. I wish the gears worked better. I wish I knew the combination for the lock, that is definitely not adding any ornamental value to my vehicle. In fact it makes it heavy.

But I am still beginning to fall in love with it. I love ‘not walking’ everywhere now. I love going downhill effortlessly. I love riding through the avenues. I love to see the patchwork the foliage creates on the cobbled road beneath. I sometimes look up at the sky while riding and I love to see the sun in the clear sky.

My bike is old. But she is a ‘sad oldie’. She has quite a sad history. She was never really used till she was handed over to me. The relationship between the rider and the bike is unique and she is beginning to feel the warmth of that relationship quite late. I hope I shall make up for all the gloomy days she spent in the garage. I am sure she loves to be woken up every morning and asked ‘how are you today..all set ?” She makes an effort to make my ride comfortable and I try to make sure that I avoid every stone on the road. I try to take a new route everyday so that she is able to see more of Oxford. I promised that I would take her to Hueston Woods but it is too far. I took her to Marcum Trail but the authorities did not want her. (Sigh !!! “No Bikes”)

I love her. I have not named her yet. She is the only one I am closest to, in Oxford. She keeps all my secrets to herself and in return all I have to do is ride her everyday. She listens to me patiently. Does not comment much. I had promised her a week back that I would write about ‘us’ in my blog but since I did not she developed a puncture as a mark of protest. So here is my blog dedicated to HER. Actually the day I made my promise was a special day. That was the first time when in the whole day I made no mistakes while riding. Smooth ride. It is not an easy task to chalk out a smooth route in Oxford. So after two weeks of trial and error I had decided on a route that had minimum amount of uphill rides. It was a day to rejoice.

Bye