As a growing girl, I was very intrigued by the media. It appealed to me at a very young age. Unlike today, there were a handful of news channels. And the fact that we used to get a glimpse of the happenings around the world fascinated me. I used to wake up to the smell of newspapers. It was to me like a cup of coffee – I needed to know the headlines to have a fresh start to the day. I remember at times my mom used to hide the newspapers, if she felt i would be late for school. After a little hustle, I would eventually get my hands on it.

I grew up aspiring to be a journalist – travel the world, meet people and see the world from the ‘inside’.  It was more than a dream, a way of life.  I would spend my evenings waiting for the 9 O ‘clock news. It was not to be missed for any good reason. Politics always took the backstage. I used to enjoy watching the international broadcast. Being an avid sports fan, I used to live through the sports edition. During school assemblies too, I used to always be selected as the newsreader. My passion was not only seen but also felt by those around me.

As I grew, I realized that I couldn’t live my dream. Coming from a community where girls would be married off at an early age, I wasn’t encouraged a career in this. With time I had my own family and I moved on. My husband being  techie, the newspapers stopped coming home. T.V channels were regarded as not needed. Everything was virtual. And that did not appease me. News was a hear say from people. My world and my news was my little home, I was putting together.

But with time, I started seeing the harsh reality of modern day media. Within a decade, the news was no longer connected to any news in reality. It was a money making industry. People who didn’t deserve to be on the headlines, were there and the people who deserved had vanished. There was more falsehood than the truth. Nothing was clear and apparent. Each news channel was trying to outdo the other. In the process i realized  that it was blessing that i couldn’t become the person i aspired to be. I was happier to be on the other side, watching the news drama.

The realms of media are far reaching. But does this provide the ground for us to live in? Does it satiate our desire to understand the backdrop of our existence? The world is shown as a war zone – where love, humanity and service seem to have become extinct. Is it so?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.