|
A revolution is like a cocktail. It just
gets you organized for the next. But we, the
journalists of Gujarat, as the joke goes,
waited over four decades to try and fathom
for ourselves whether we wanted a
revolution, a cocktail or a Club. Our
founding fathers had chosen to block booze
so we invariably never managed to land
ourselves in the grey areas between cultured
crucifixion and drunken decency to brew a
revolution. Besides the business genes sown
within us by our cash rich soil proved such
a potent pot-pourri that forever drunk on
H2O and wagh-bakri chai. We never found the
time for any other cocktail like heady mix.
In the process the need to share soulful
banter at best or clink glasses at worst -so
very much an intrinsic party of every Press
club from Punjab to Pondicherry - was never
felt. Not atleast officially. Nevertheless
an old foggy and a bunch of young journos
managed to stitch together a colourful
tapestry called the Gujarat Media Club. Let
us introduce you to these 'founding
fathers'.
 The
Old Foggy
Rajendra Kumar Misra
Founder President & Signatory to MoA & AoA
of the Club
A profession which engenders heightened
sobriety ends up unleashing a hardened sense
of hermitage humour. It is thus that this
grey haired gentleman finds top billing –not
for his success but as a reward for his
failures. He tried unsuccessfully to form a
Press Club in Gujarat for almost forty long
years until the young worthies who are
enumerated below came along and did it in a
matter of about forty days (though thanks
mainly due to a kick in their vital
midsection by the blackcoat's of the
judicial profession!). To honour the efforts
of a failure, the successful put him at the
head of the heap hoping that the forlorn
walls of the Club building may have
something to 'hang', atleast one photograph
with a garland and a plaque that will speak
the truth-Late…..After all the old die young
in journalism.
As for formal introductions, Uttar Pradesh
the land of his birth found him a tad
distasteful to retain and dumped him on
Gujarat after a modicum of education. His
state of domicile gave him bread, butter,
booze and blossoms. Beginning his career
with Gujarat Herald (now defunct) in 1971,
he graduated through Western Times to the
Times of India in 1973 as Reporter before
moving on to Rajkot to take charge of
Saurashtra and Kutch in 1979 and to Surat
for South Gujarat in 1984. Four years later
he moved to Delhi as Astt. Editor of the
Probe India group of publications to cover
trouble torn Punjab and Kashmir, only to
return to Gujarat as Special Correspondent
of The Pioneer in 1991 just before the
launch of it's Delhi edition by Mr Vinod
Mehta. At the inception of the Club he was
the Roving Editor of the same paper, also
doing duty for numerous other publications
including Outlook and AP under a special
arrangement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The
Young Futurist
Brajesh Kumar Singh
First Secretary General & Signatory to MoA &
AoA of the Club
Great things are done when men and mountain
meet, This is not done by jostling in the
street. India is casteist to the core. Ever
at loggerheads in the format of North Indian
politics, the Thakur and the Brahmin made
for a stabilizing combination just like the
Patels and the Kshatriyas did to usher in
Narendra Modi to the helm of oil rich
Gujarat in 2007. A key component-in fact the
main man-to see the Gujarat Media Club
become a reality, sober and cautious Singh
was the glue which got men and mountain
together. In the words of Rath Dorothy, I
have come to where I belong, not an
enchanted place, but the walls are strong,
is how he would put it.
Organisation building is not just chic
showmanship. It is hard, back-breaking
labour. Edifice building, brick piled on
solid brick with a soiled hand mason
shovelling soft sand to weld hard cement
into a lofty profile. Many merge selflessly
to create a masterpiece. Brajesh is the
maddening glue that forced you into
submission through sheer persistence. Give
him a document to dissect and he would open
it's innards until B.R.Ambedkar rose from
the grave to give his approval. The
Constitution of India, he would say, was an
easier job. Journos are hard to herd. Using
his tongue for a whip and hand for a poke,
he has managed to ensnare the herd and also
keep it moving-for a change – in a single
direction.
For the record Brajesh began his
professional career after passing out from
Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New
Delhi in the year 1996. He did his
internship with Aaj Tak under the legendary
editor S P Singh and later joined Amar Ujala
group at New Delhi. He spent about eighteen
months with the group's business newspaper 'Karobar'
and then dabbled with the electronic media
which was in its infancy. He was part of the
team that launched the first 24-hour Hindi
news channel in India that was Zee India TV
after renaming EL TV. Later Zee India TV
became Zee News and he spent three and half
years with the channel and in this stint
came to Gujarat in 1999. He then moved to
Aaj Tak in June 2001 for a six months stint
returning to the Zee News fold soon after.
Singh moved to STAR News in December 2002.
At the inception of the Club he was with the
STAR News.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Stoneman
Sanjay Pandey
First Organisation Secretary & Signatory to
MoA & AoA of the Club
Life is what happens to you while you're
busy making other plans, said the legendary
John Lennon .Same stands true for roller
coaster rider Sanjay. His journey through
time has been a precise one, to turn every
old saying on it's head. Rolling stones
gather no moss. This one here rolls at an
incredible speed and besides moss also picks
up money in salary hikes as he changes jobs
like jackets. One in the hand is better than
two in the bush. One in the hand is for
keeps, but two are lined up outside his
office door and three others idling on the
streetside. Jobs that is. But he remains a
milestone man for the Gujarat Media Club.
There is a method in his madness, so to say.
He is very dependable and can be trusted to
carry a job to it's logical end. He is
therefore always in demand. One can go on
and on. Born to a security forces officer
who perforce kept on the move thanks to
frequent postings, Sanjay still keeps the
old whirl, through changing jobs rather than
towns. For all the leg pulling, he is a
jolly good fellow who has set his own rhythm
of life and goes chugging merrily along. But
for his dynamism and ability to pull all the
dreary, donkey-load of a work, there would
be no Club. It is his single-minded
perseverance, incredible patience, boundless
energy and exemplary commitment that has
seen a distant dream turn into a pride
instilling reality.
Sanjay started his professional career in
1996 while studying at Centre for
Development Communication, Ahmedabad as
freelancer for the Indian Express and
thereafter worked for The Pioneer as a
trainee journalist. He began his full time
career with The Asian Age, Ahmedabad edition
and thereafter joined Press Trust of India
in New Delhi. Sanjay came back to Ahmedabad
and worked for the Times of India and
subsequently moved to STAR News in 2003. He
had a stint in business journalism too with
CRISIL MarketWire which was re-christened as
NewsWire18 later. He then joined NEWS24, a
24-hour Hindi news channel in October 2007.
At the inception of the Club he was with the
STAR News.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Eternal Optimist
Sunil Raghu
First Joint Secretary & Signatory to MoA &
AoA of the Club
Some people are always grumbling because
roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns
have roses. These words of Alphonse Kerr
find fulsome echo in Sunil's outlook of
life. He is an optimist who hopes for the
best even as he is prepared for the worst.
In the dark and dismal days after the
initial euphoria had subsided and the
enormity of the task at hand struck home, it
was Sunil's easy banter and
we-will-do-it-not-to-worry approach that
kept the fires going. Himself being educated
as an increasingly mercenary face of
'friends' came into full view, he
nevertheless held on to sanity and made is
fellow travelers keep their cool as well.
This too shall pass, was how he would put it
and make the team move on as well, laughing
off heartaches and celebrating pint-sized
victories with élan. He keeps doing so till
date as the Club gets close to celebrating
it's second birthday.
Sunil began his career by joining The
Economic Times in 1995 after passing out
from Centre for Development Communication,
Ahmedabad. He then moved to Bangalore and
then Mumbai. He came back to Ahmedabad with
the same business daily till 1998. He joined
CNBC-TV in 2004 and went back to print
business journalism in 2007 by joining MINT.
Sunil has seen a lot in his chequered
career. At the inception of the Club he was
with CNBC TV18.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Gentleman Journo
Rohit Bhan
First Joint Secretary & Signatory to MoA
& AoA of the Club
Worry never robs tomorrow of it's sorrow, it
only saps today of it's joy. Rohit who takes
life by the horns and cruises through at his
own pace, is the gentleman journalist who
believes that all is well that ends well. He
never baulks at whatever the task entrusted
to him, carrying it out with an easy
countenance that spoke much. Perhaps guided
by the belief that if you need me, you just
have to call, Rohit chose to prod here and
push there so that matters kept moving. And
lo and behold the Club became a reality.
Rohit began his professional career with The
Indian Express in 1996 in Ahmedabad after
passing his BJ honours from Delhi College of
Art & Commerce, Delhi University in 1995.
After a brief stint with BiTV as a trainee
he changed gears to print. Doing duty at
various bureaus of the Indian Express
stretching from Ahmedabad to Vadodara and
there from to Jammu and onto Bhopal was a
decade long journey. He moved to TIMES NOW
in mid 2005 and then joined NDTV 24X7 in
October, 2005. At the inception of the Club
he was with NDTV 24X7.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Bachelor Badshah
Rajeev Khanna
Executive Member
First Managing Committee & Signatory to MoA
& AoA of the Club
Good friends are like stars. You don't
always see them, but you always know they
are there. The bachelor badshah from the
cooler climes of Solan, the town made famous
by it's distinct brand of bachhus brew was
equally at home in Satellite suburb of
Ahmedabad sans the bubbly though merrily
swigging away on the side. He walked into
Gujarat on padded feet, became a very
intrinsic part of the media scene in the
state, helped set up the Club, and one fine
morning returned to the country's capital.
But that was only after he had actively seen
the Gujarat Media Club become a reality.
Unable to ever think of any get together for
work or fun without the great SMSes from the
ever jovial Rajeev and the repartees that
flew from his verbal quiver timelessly, the
small gap became a yawning void after he
left. We shall always remain indebted to him
for his invaluable contribution. Thanks
mate!
Rajeev began his journalistic pursuit in
1995 by freelancing for Statesman. Then he
joined Indian Express and worked for the
national daily at Chandigarh, Punjab and in
Gujarat. Rajeev then came to The Asian Age
in New Delhi and covered all major
ministries including Defence and Home. He
then switched job and moved to BBC Radio in
London and then to Gujarat. He moved to
NEWSX 24-hour English News Channel later on.
At the inception of the Club he was with BBC
Radio at Ahmedabad.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Stoic Supporter
Lokesh Kumar
Executive Member
First Managing Committee & Signatory to MoA
& AoA of the Club
Goals are dreams with deadlines. For Lokesh
who has been busy chasing both of them most
of the time, his bit for the Club has been
his very total support. His endorsement of
the move to form the Club has been a very
warm gesture which has been followed up with
cooperation and commitment at a time when it
was badly needed. Confidence in the ability
of the group of youngsters to be able to do
something that could not be done for decades
was at a very low ebb. Lokesh was one who
kept the faith and was part of the initial
group which made the Club possible.
Lokesh Kumar has been in the field of
journalism for more than ten years. He has
worked with leading English news daily and
has spent most of his journalistic life in
the TV media of Delhi and Gujarat. He has
done investigative stories and has
experience of desk, news-gathering and
handling news operations of a regional
channel based in Ahmedabad. He has
conceptualized and produced some popular
news-based programmes. At the inception of
the Club he was with Zee News.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Silent Soldier
R M Pandey
First Treasurer
Hardwork spotlights the character of people.
Some turn up their sleeves, some turn up
their noses and some don't turn up at all.
Ram Mani Pandey known among his friends and
colleagues as 'Pandeyji' is the silent
soldier who was around anytime and everytime
something had to be done. Sleeves rolled as
if his shoulders anticipated every point and
need to be harnessed to the wheel he was
ever ready to get to work, even before the
words were out of the mouth. His was the
battery that kept the GMC charged and ready
after every stretched day's brainstorming.
Everytime one staggered out of these
extended sessions, it was Pandeyji who kept
track of every rupee that came in or went
out. He was the proverbial Shylock guarding
the GMC coffers, even when there was no GMC
and no coffers. Every cup of tea or coffee,
every eat or sweet had to be paid for from
your pocket. Let's go dutch' was the Pandey
credo. If the GMC bank account bulges like a
pregnant cow, he deserves credit, a little
more than the others do. Who would know the
value of money better than Pandeyji. He has
literally clawed his way up from very humble
beginnings.
Beginning as a professional photographer, he
got attracted to news photography and joined
'Gujarat Vaibhav', a hindi daily in 1993. He
also tried his hands at freelancing for
United News of India (UNI), Business World
and The Telegraph besides working for
Ahmedabad based 'Chaupal',then a weekly.
Meanwhile 'Pandeyji' started developing
interest in television news gathering and
started working for ETV-Telegu from
Ahmedabad and also reported for Associated
Press Television Network (APTN). He is
currently working for STAR News as Senior
Cameraperson since 2003. At the inception of
the Club he was with STAR News. |
