Ravi Mahapatra told Supriya Patra to write, and keep ready an obituary on Bana Panda, and instructed her to investigate his past, and make the story special and authentic.
Ravi Mahapatra was the
editor of odishafast.com and Bana Panda was a cabinet minister. Bana Panda was detected
Covid positive and admitted in the Covid hospital. Supriya said, ‘Sir, he is
admitted today in the hospital; has not yet died…’
‘He will not survive. A
comorbidity case; he has diabetics, high blood pressure and heart problems. He
got his heart operated six months ago. Please ensure, our news should be in the
portal first. This is an age of competition. Our news should be informative,
different and well written. We should increase our viewership. If more people
read us, visit our website, we will get more advertisements. If we wait for his
death to happen, and write his obituary, we will write what others write, and we
may also upload the news at the same time others do’ Ravi Mahapatra lectured.
Supriya was a student of
journalism and mass communication; had not yet completed the course. The
university was closed because of Covid. Since she would do journalism after her
studies, her father requested Ravi Mahapatra to work for his portal. She would
learn and be trained in the art. Ravi Mahapatra was her father’s friend since
their college days.
Supriya asked a few of
his friends of journalism about Bana Panda. They were from the latter’s
constituency. One friend said, ‘He is a goon and a ruffian. He never moves anywhere
alone; whenever and wherever he goes, he will go with seven or eight of his
musclemen. ‘He creates terror, and wins election with money and muscle power.’
The second boy said, ‘He damaged the reputation of our local college. His boys
will contest elections and win. His followers are all bullies and goons; they
don’t come to the college for study, but for hooliganism.’ The third person
said, ‘We have heard from our elders in the village, Bana Panda passed his B.A.
by cheating in the exams. He always carries a knife with him. He warned the
lecturers who were on invigilation duty in the exam, “You are staying with your
wife and children. You never know what may happen to them, at any time. Let me
write the exams in peace.” No invigilators had guts to go near him when he
copied in the exams straight from books.’
‘What information you
gather on Bana Panda?’ asked the editor.
Supriya told what information
she had gathered on the ailing and about-to-die cabinet minister.
The editor said, ‘This is
not the way obits are written. The dead person is praised, not condemned. Good
qualities, benevolent behaviour of the dead person are highlighted. Do you
understand? One has to do things like what you have heard from your friends, to
be in politics and be a successful politician. You google search and find out
how many times he has been MLA; how many times he has become minister.
Investigate into his good deeds and noble qualities, and reasons for his
popularity in his constituency.’
Of course, true; a person
could not be successful unless he did good work. Supriya realized and collected
phone numbers of some of the party-men and Bana Panda’s political assistants
from his constituency and asked them about Panda. One party-man said, ‘Bana has
been my friend since our college days. His favourite game was football. He
treated all the players after the game with snacks and tea, almost every day.
Very affectionate, he loves and cares his friends.’ A political worker said, ‘He
is generous and kindhearted. His hands
are open to help the poor and needy. He makes a list of the students of his
constituency, who pass tenth class and supplies them with books, and also helps
them with money to take admission in colleges.’ A political assistant said, 'He
never keeps grudge against his political rivals. He sent two quintals of fish
from his ponds to the opposition candidate who has been contesting, and is being
defeated by him in the elections, for his daughter’s marriage.’
Supriya had prepared the
obituary. But Bana Panda recovered from Covid and was discharged from the
hospital. He returned home alive and well. The editor said, ‘He has a strong
will power; and the attraction of the power keeps him alive. Despite so many
diseases and being a serious comorbidity case, he survived!’ Supriya became
unhappy. She laboured and took pains to collect material to prepare the
obituary, but the minister survived; her efforts went in vain. She was sad.
After six days, at around
nine in the night, the editor called up Supriya and said, ‘Keep ready the obit
on Bana Panda. He has been again admitted in the hospital today. He is in a
critical condition. I was enquiring with the doctors. This time he will not
survive. He may pass away today in the night, maybe within one or two hours.
You will upload the obit immediately in the portal, without waiting for
anyone’s approval.’
Supriya downloaded a
photograph of Bana Panda from internet and wrote below ‘21 August 1961 to 10
September, 2020’. She had saved the
write up. She now fine-tuned and made a few cosmetic changes to make the obit
attractive and readable. She would upload the moment she heard about the death.
She was looking at news on her mobile phone. But the news of Bana Panda’s death
eluded. Sleep came over her.
She woke up at around
3.30, night. Bana Panda was in her mind only. She looked at the Facebook. One
person had posted the death of Bana Panda. She checked with the twitter. One politician
had also twitted about his death. The party-worker of his constituency she had
spoken to, a few days back, had also posted the death of Bana Panda with his
photograph on the Facebook. Now she was sure of the death. The editor at this
time must be in slumber; she did not want to disturb him. She uploaded the obit
in their news portal and went to sleep.
Supriya woke up at around
seven in the morning and found three missed calls from the editor. She rang
back. The editor said, ‘Congratulations! Excellent…I read it in the morning
after I woke up. But there is a mistake…’
‘What mistake, Sir?’
‘You have written the
date of death of Bana Panda below his photograph 10th September; it
should be 11th September. He died at 2.10, in the night. The date of
death should be 11th, instead of 10th.’
‘Sir, I had written the
piece much earlier and waited for his death. But he did not die. I slept. When
I woke up, it was 3.30, night, and found in the social media about his death in
the meantime. I checked with other sources, and getting confirmed, uploaded the
obit,’ Supriya said.
‘No problem, I have
already corrected it. No newspaper has yet reported his death news. The
newspapers usually conclude the news for the next day’s edition by one or two
in the night. The news of his death has also not been reported in any of the
web portal by now. Ours is the first, and its news along with obit. The obit is
also beautiful; football, supply of books to the poor and needy students,
sending fish to his political rival on the occasion of the latter’s daughter’s
marriage… Work like this, with sincerity and innovativeness. You will rise in
the profession.’
*****
