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"Bismee and Jyoti, you two are going on the field tomorrow morning” — these words gave us both joy and anxiety. It was the pandemic, a lockdown had been imposed, we were living in containment zones. The travel plan had no fixed return, we had the night to figure out our essentials and start traveling the very next morning. Shekhar Gupta always gave young reporters a chance to shine and this was the “biggest story of our lives”.
Around 10 o'clock on 5 May, 2020, Renu Agal called Jyoti (now, the late Renu Agal, Hindi Editor at ThePrint). "Have you bought enough masks? Have you kept biscuits as there will be no food? Her endless questions were followed by cautions: Wash your hair twice a day with hot water, you never know who would be carrying the virus. Sanitise your phone every now and then."
The call ended with a warning: "I will not publish any translation as the essence of the Hindi Heartland will be lost in the English copies. File in Hindi." As an aspiring young journalist who wanted to make it in the English team, Jyoti dreaded that conversation, but replied, "Okay ma'am! I will file the stories in Hindi."
Our journey began with thrill, but soon, the reality of the lockdown hit us. Everyday, we would come back with a harrowing experience of reporting the mass migration, absolute chaos at the state borders, clueless bureaucracy, death and despair. Hours were spent in finding a roof over our heads, food and sending video footage to our teams in Delhi.
"I struggled everynight to find the correct words, lines and phrases to explain the situation in Hindi," says Jyoti.
At the peak of the lockdown, when misinformation was rampant, we had to navigate the thin line between sensationalising and producing an accurate account of things on the ground.
Beyond all these thoughts, there was a constant pressure to prove — it was a huge assignment to cover rural India, the reporting had to be sensitive and at the same time, it had to be extremely real for the reader. Whenever we felt overwhelmed, a message from our Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta, sent to the reporters at the beginning of the pandemic, kept encouraging us: "We are now dealing with what could be the biggest story of our lives. We, the kinship of Indian journalism, will be tested as never before. Future generations of Indians will hold us to this. Let’s recall that famous World War II poster: So where were you in the Great War, Grandpa/ma?"
Many many months later, on 22 March 2023, when we walked on that stage of the Ramnath Goenka Awards, we felt like all our struggles had come full circle. The weight of the trophy brought back memories from the field and made us believe that good journalism is recognised. More so, because it was in the Hindi category, the lack of sleep, the tiredness, the frustration and the helplessness, all the effort seemed worthy now. It's an award that has helped bring much required attention to Hindi Journalism.
Earlier that day, we had a celebration of sorts at ThePrint office. Our friends and colleagues cheered with all their might as we walked towards the area for the cake cutting. Each one of them applauded for our collective victory.
Good Journalism won, ThePrint has won.
If you'd like to read some of our work that got recognised, please follow the links below:
● मजदूर ने मुंबई से यूपी तक की 1600 किमी की दूरी तय की, घर से महज 30 किमी दूरी पर हुई मौत, जांच में कोरोना पॉजिटिव आया
● यूपी के सीतापुर के अलग-थलग और सुदूर बसे बाढ़ प्रभावित गांवों के सामने कोरोनावायरस से भी बड़ी समस्याएं हैं
● 9 महीने की गर्भवती ने यूपी से बिहार तक 900 किमी की यात्रा की, फिर डिलीवरी के लिए करना पड़ा घंटों इंतजार
● बिहार में शहरों से लौटे प्रवासियों ने महिलाओं के लिए नया संकट पैदा किया- कर्ज के चंगुल का
● जो शहरों में कमाया वहीं गंवा कर मजदूर लौट रहे हैं अपने घर, कहा- भूखे मरेंगे लेकिन परिवार तो साथ होगा
● यूपी और बिहार से कोविड के दौर में रिपोर्टिंग के वो 72 घंटे जहां हमने मृत्यु और जन्म दोनों देखे
● भागलपुर के नौगछिया में हुई सड़क दुर्घटना के वक्त मौजूद लोगों ने ‘लोहे की रॉड’ को बताया मजदूरों की मौत का कारण
● श्रमिक एक्सप्रेस द्वारा पंजाब से यूपी पहुंचे प्रवासी मजदूर हरदोई में फंसे, उनसे कहा गया कि अपने परिवहन की खुद व्यवस्था करें
Thank You, Readers- We're Thrilled! |
