{"id":83820,"date":"2019-11-04T01:47:02","date_gmt":"2019-11-03T20:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/?p=83820"},"modified":"2019-11-04T01:47:02","modified_gmt":"2019-11-03T20:17:02","slug":"no-one-was-or-will-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/2019\/11\/04\/no-one-was-or-will-be\/","title":{"rendered":"No one was, or will be"},"content":{"rendered":"

They loved him, they hated him, they feared him; none could ever ignore him. Taro Chatung was the common man\u2019s journalist.<\/em><\/p>\n

[ Rup J Pater ]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Year: Early 21st century<\/em>
\nTime: 6:40 pm<\/em>
\nDeadline: 7:05 pm<\/em>
\nTo go on air: 7:15 pm<\/em><\/p>\n

Days were there when there was no news\u2026 or not enough worth reporting. Print subeditors would rub their receding hairlines and make optimum use of the worldwide web to fill their respective four pages. For me it was a Herculean task filling the 15-minute audiovisual news-slot at hand.
\nBy the way, www.com still ain\u2019t a lifesaver for audiovisual media in terms of copy-pasting!
\nOn the edit suite, I was done with all the video reports of the day – organizing, clipping, cutting, narrating, etc. There were about four stories. After editing and setting all four on the timeline, I still had a little more than three minutes of time-space to fill.
\nThere were no more stories coming in.
\nBeing trained in print, audiovisual medium wasn\u2019t easy for me. Had it been for print, I could have played with the sentences – reconstructing, rephrasing, realigning \u2013 even resizing the fonts on a lazy day and fill up every darn inch of a page! But I just couldn\u2019t manipulate the visuals at hand to extend the episode for another three minutes. \u2018CID\u2019 or \u2018Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi\u2019 type of soaps weren\u2019t that popular then, for inspiration. Nor had the national-regional news channels caught up with the now mandatory repetitive visuals with equally repetitive narratives plus the horror-film stolen music to go with, to learn from.
\nThe clock showed 6:50 pm. Fifteen minutes to deadline.
\nTensed, I started reviewing the \u2018bytes\u2019 of people in the raw (not RAW) footages, hoping to find something important or worth adding in the newsreel. My bad, the more I saw the more I felt like deleting a few bytes from the final timeline instead! I was stuck\u2026 surrendered. Almost.
\nEnter my saviour\u2026. my boss \u2013 Taro Chatung.
\nThose days I was working with the Echo of Arunachal (EoA). With only four newspapers published from Itanagar, all were doing fine \u2013 content-wise. On the electronic front, a few houses tried their hands at producing newsreels aired on DDK Itanagar. Except for one, the rest faded away, unable to sustain financially.
\nEven today it isn\u2019t easy for electronic media; it was harder then. Unlike what many may believe, DDK wasn\u2019t paying these private producers to air their newsreels. It was the other way round. Producers paid DDK for the slot allotted to them to air their episodes. It didn\u2019t come cheap, and took its toll on the producers, who had neither sponsors nor advertisers.
\nIf not for Taro Chatung, his inimitable style of working, and his never-say-die attitude, \u2018News & Views\u2019 wouldn\u2019t have survived. It not only survived and thrived, it made a cult of a generation!
\nToday I can dare say that DDK Itanagar not only thrived but survived a difficult phase because of Taro Chatung\u2019s \u2018News & Views\u2019. When cable TV ruled the roost and DTH service providers were changing the concept of TV viewing, DDK was stuck with its traditional antenna atop long bamboo poles. \u2018News & Views\u2019 ensured that these bamboo poles stayed put for at least another five years (2000-2005).<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what\u2019s up, Rup? Hope today\u2019s episode is ready,\u201d Chatung sir queried as he pulled up a chair beside me.
\nWhen I told him that I still needed one more story to complete the slot, he fumed first. Then he smiled, nonchalantly picked up his camera, and walked out to his trusted car \u2013 yes the red Maruti 800. As he drove out, I heard him shout, \u201cFive minutes!\u201d
\nChatung sir was made of a different mettle. He had stories running in his blood. All he needed was visuals, and he had all the energy in the world to go hunting for these visuals.
\nSeven minutes to deadline.
\nI vividly remember the evening he walked into my office at the EoA. Without much ado, he came straight to the point. He wanted me to join \u2018News & Views\u2019 as a part-timer.
\n\u201cYou may not know, Rup, but I know people laugh behind my back. They laugh at my Hindi, they laugh at my style of narration, and they make fun of my presentations. I don\u2019t care, mind you, but the times are changing and I need to accept it. After giving a lot of thought, I have decided to leave the script, narration and presentation part to someone with good language skills, who can also double up as an anchor. You fit my bill,\u201d was his explanation.
\nBefore I could react, he pulled out a paper and placed it on the table. A \u2018letter of acceptance\u2019. Neatly typed, I just had to sign.
\nAs I pondered, he pointed towards a blank on the letter and said, \u201cHere, I have kept this blank. It is up to you to fill\u2026 the monthly remuneration that you expect, based on your assumption of your capability, eligibility and productivity.\u201d
\nIt wasn\u2019t a bad proposal. I could keep my present job. Give only two hours of the day in the evening to \u2018News & Views\u2019 and earn both ways! The only confusing point was what to fill in the blank! I couldn\u2019t ask the world from Chatung sir, knowing how hard he worked and how less he earned; nor did I want to work for less\u2026. at least not lesser than what I was getting.
\nNext day, I was at the rented office-cum-residence of Chatung sir in Abotani Colony with the letter signed. As I held my breath, he glanced at the paper \u2013 not even for a full second, smiled, and held out his hand.
\n\u201cWelcome to \u2018News & Views\u2019!\u201d
\nFor those wondering, with much courage I had scribbled on the blank \u2013 Rs 10,000! Those years it was a handsome perk and a few grands more than what I was getting from the job at hand. Chatung sir didn\u2019t even bat an eyelid! His confidence outshone all others.
\nThree minutes to deadline.
\nAs the brakes screeched outside, I knew Chatung sir was back\u2026. with a story only a Taro Chatung could do. With the audiovisuals on his VHS tape, he set on the job of editing. When it comes to linear editing, I can well say that there was none in the state to match Chatung sir in speed and accuracy. Now that linear editing is history, there would be none.
\nSilence prevailed, except for the whirling-grinding sounds of the VCR machines that Chatung sir pushed to the limits. My eyes were on the clock though.
\nTwo minutes past deadline.
\n\u201cDeadlines at times are meant to be broken,\u201d he laughed as he zoomed off in his 800, with the final VHS tape, to DDK.
\nAs I watched \u2018News & Views\u2019 that evening, the genius of Taro Chatung became obvious all the more. The last story of three minutes was the story of the day, drawing attention and appreciation from all and sundry. And the saying that \u2018a good journalist creates a story when there\u2019s none\u2019 dawned on me.
\nLocation: Ganga market. Subject: Clock tower.
\nChatung sir thrusts his camera randomly at people, asking them what time of the day it is. When they tell the time, consulting their watches, Chatung sir counters with \u201cAapka ghadi kharab hai tu\u2026\u201d and \u201cAapka ghadi sahi hai na woh clock tower ka ghadi sahi hai?\u201d
\nThe tower-clock was not budging from 2:15 pm since months.
\nThe best part was when Chatung sir confronted an elderly policeman with the question: \u201cAap toh full uniform me hai. Kahan se aa raha hai?\u201d
\n\u201cOffice se. Chutti ho gia.\u201d
\n\u201cArey aapka office 2:15 me chutti hotai kya?\u201d
\n\u201cNaitoh. Six baji paar ho gia abhi. Chutti toh hoga na\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cKun bola six bajgia? Aap woh clock tower ko dekhiye toh, sirif 2:15 hi hua hai.\u201d
\n\u201cWho toh faltu hai. Daily utna hi bajta hai!\u201d
\nFor reasons best known to it, DDK stopped airing all news-based programmes produced by private parties on its channels. Chatung sir\u2019s \u2018News & Views\u2019 had an untimely and sudden death, ending an era of daring, innovative and intriguing journalism \u2013 never seen or will be in Arunachal Pradesh.
\nI had left \u2018News & Views\u2019 much before it went off air, as I realized that viewers wanted only him on the screen. They didn\u2019t want a picture-perfect script or camera-centric scholastic Hindi for narration. They wanted on screen someone who spoke, articulated and summarized like them\u2026 a common Arunachalee, albeit with some uncanny power that is not common. They wanted a common man with uncommon power\u2026 not to punch but to question. Chatung sir it was\u2026 a superman of sorts. People on other side of the fence loved him, hated him, feared him, but just couldn\u2019t ignore him. He was the common man\u2019s journalist. No one was or will be… in his shoes.
\nWell, as far as the clock tower in Ganga is concerned, can\u2019t say for how long but it started working the next day.
\n\u201cDekkha Rup\u2026 kuch nai ho k bhi kuch toh hua hai na!\u201d he had quipped to me days later, in his trademark humour, which\u2026 well, can\u2019t be copy-pasted.<\/p>\n

Year: About two decades into 21st century
\nTime: 10:30 am
\nDate: 26 October, 2019
\n\u2026 Line dead
\n\u2026 On air forever<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They loved him, they hated him, they feared him; none could ever ignore him. Taro Chatung was the common man\u2019s journalist. [ Rup J Pater ] Year: Early 21st century Time: 6:40 pm Deadline: 7:05 pm To go on air: 7:15 pm Days were there when there was no news\u2026 or not enough worth reporting. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-83820","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-state-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83820\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}