World at my doorstep

As a kid it was my responsibility to wait for the newspaper boy every early morning and bring the paper to my father who would be eagerly waiting for the same with his cup of steaming coffee. For nearly one hour he would be glued to the paper doing ‘vishwa paryatana’ through its pages, having given instructions to us that he shouldn’t be disturbed unless it was an emergency.

This was nearly seven decades ago and the pattern of this routine continues with the same fervour in my family — the only difference being that the players now belong to present generation. Those days, besides daily newspapers, radio transmission was the only other means of communication for news coverage and this obviously could not cover the entire gamut of regional, national and world news in the manner that could be presented in specified columns as done in the newspaper, enabling the reader to pick his choice leisurely.

With the advent of satellite communication, enormous innovative developments have taken place in this sphere. Today we have innumerable options for enjoying programmes on every conceivable topic presented through sophisticated electronic media encompassing far wider and deeper coverage of happenings in every nook and corner of this globe and even beyond! The number of TV channels are in hundreds with many service providers catering to every taste and interest with the nonstop coverage of ‘breaking news’ of the moment with its on the spot TV projections round the clock and round the year.

Despite all this glamour and versatility of the electronic media, the good old daily newspapers have maintained their supremacy and are undoubtedly an inseparable part of our own little world, the reason for which is not far to seek. The compact package of info the daily brings to our doorsteps in limited number of pages cannot be obtained in the given time even by numerous TV channels. Life is fast these days and nobody has that much time and patience to browse through so many channels to get the desired particulars. This explains why the print media has kept abreast with the ever-developing and sophisticated electronic media.

I have no idea about the functioning of the newspaper enterprise though I am much fascinated by it, but I do know that it has to be essentially an extremely well and meticulously organised network, always on its toes, dedicatedly keeping pace with the constant flow of events around the globe with remarkable system potential to present the same authentically and responsibly in a nutshell with unfailing regularity.

Though I view TV programmes selectively, my day doesn’t get kick started without the eagerly awaited soft thud of the morning paper hurriedly plonked by the newspaper boy at my doorstep. Right now I am waiting for just that!