The World Of Columnist

This is my second blog. What I have realized in past few days that writing in itself is an art and not a piece of cake. I always wanted to write something meaningful, something scintillating and mesmerising. But due to some or the other preoccupations I had to put this desire of mine on the backburner. Maybe I didn’t have that fire in me. Maybe my desire of writing something was more of a velleity than a firm determination. I always had some excuses or the other for not writing. But now I have no other option but to put my bums on the chair and get down to some serious writing.

Let me tell you something about my reading habit. I am a voracious reader and love reading blogs and columns of eminent writers and journalists. Among them I love Mr. M J Akbar’s blog on TOI and Daily Pioneer. His way of writing is marvelous. It is like pealing of bells which resonate in your ears for a long time. The most fascinating thing about his writing is the way he uses metaphors and symbols. For example on Madhu Koda’s act of feigning illness he commented that “Madhu Koda has stomach ache, Democracy has cancer”. This is just one example of his becharming writing. Another one of my favorite columnists is Vinita Dawra Nangia. A few must have read her. Like Mr. Akbar’s blog, her column also appears on the Sunday issue of TOI. Her focus is on the relationships and emotional aspects of human being. Her writing so frequently resonates with the minds of the reader that while reading her blog at times it appears as if she is reading the other person’s mind and writing his/her thoughts. Apart from these two, Santosh Desai’s blog “city city bang bang” is also good. Anup Kohli‘s blog “the masquerader” is also enchanting. By the way Mr. Anup Kohli is a neurosurgeon at Apollo hospital, Delhi and writing is his part-time profession. Looking away from TOI, Vir Sanghvi’s blog on HindustanTimes which comes under the title “counter point” is many a times like a questionnaire in which he presents his views on a topic in the form of questions and answers. Karan Thapar’s (one of my favorite anchors) column “The Sunday Sentiment” is simple and precise.He is an excellent writer and he knows very well how to use space provided to him.Surprisingly, more often than not his blog focuses on off beat topics that usually go unnoticed by other columnists who make it a point to write on the larger than life issues such as climate change, globalization etc. For example a week before last week, Karan Thapar’s article was on variety that English language provides for its user. He mentioned that in English language there are separate words for donkeys standing in a group and donkeys walking in a group. The list of columnists is endless. But I can’t forget to mention the name of my favorite columnist. He is not the one who writes on larger than life issues nor does he uses the symbolism of Mr. Akbar. He doesn’t get the praise he deserves from the media. Very few people know him and even fewer will recognize him on hearing his name. Manas Chakravarty of HindustanTimes. His blog title is “Loose Canon”. You have to read him to understand him. His sense of humor is impeccable, and writing style is flawless.I stand speechless to express my views on him.I don’t remember how many times I have laughed with my hands on my stomach after reading his columns.

Well the list does not ends here whether it is Shekhar Gupta of Indian Express or Barkha Dutt of HT, all of these columnists know how to leave the reader spellbound. They know how to present their view in a rational, articulate, fluent and mesmeric way. I may not be able to mention all the names in this blog but this does not mean that I have less respect for them. It is my incapability of describing their work in my words. I want to emulate them and want to make my career in journalism.

Don’t know what the future has in its store for me...

(with contribution from hina and priyanka...)