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Rural journalism goes Web 2.0

The Khabar Lahariya newspaper, born in the Hindi hinterland and run entirely by women, launched its website in Mumbai yesterday.
by Nidhi Qazi

What happens when a group of 40 women journalists come to the city for the launch of online edition of their newspaper Khabar Lahariya? A platform full of experiences, energy and enthusiasm opens up for discussion.

Wednesday witnessed women empowerment when the all-women’s team of the publication travelled from the districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Mumbai. From impact journalism to personal histories and journeys, they all had something to say.

Take the case of Meera, Editor of the paper, and who hails from Banda district, UP. She narrated how she is now at ease with the big machine that is the computer. In her own words, “I never thought I could operate this machine. In fact, I always used to think that something would go wrong if I touch it. But that fear is gone. We use computers to search for information, making pages and what not.”

For the uninitiated, Khabar Lahariya is a weekly newspaper produced by women from the marginalised sections of society. It is the brainchild of Nirantar, an organisation that works towards empowering women through education.

Launched in 2002 in Chitrakoot district of UP, the newspaper has expanded to Bihar and today runs six editions. The editions are from five districts of UP – Chitrakoot, Banda, Lucknow and Benares and Sitamarhi district in Bihar. The newspaper is published in regional languages such as Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Bundeli, Bajjika and Hindustani. With a readership of 80,000, the paper has its presence in 600 villages and sells for Rs 2.

With its print edition well in place, what made the newspaper launch online despite the fact that villages don’t have easy Internet accessibility? “The idea behind the online edition is to not just spread the newspaper, but the phenomenon that Khabar Lahariya is,” said Meera. “Apart from visibility, the online edition will also provide information on various rural developments and news which the mainstream media doesn’t report much,” she adds.

Khabar Lahariya uses social media marketing as a major tool. From Facebook to Twitter, they use it all. And all this is managed by the women themselves. The reporters are given an ICT workshop which includes training in the use of the Internet.

The newspaper depends mainly on funding from such sources as the Dorabji Tata Trust and UN Democracy and Equity Fund, though a sustainable model is what they aim for in the long run. Their margin for advertising revenue is low and they also get funded through the various awards they win.

As for the recruitment of staff, the team gives out ads. “The prospective reporters are selected after a formal interview process. We then train them for a week in writing, editing, video-making, photography and page-making,” says Kavita, who joined the paper in 2002.

Short stories

For Shanti, one of the paper’s oldest reporters and who has been associated with the publication since its inception, “It’s a privilege to have travelled so far when all others from my community (she belongs to the Kol tribe of UP) haven’t even dreamed about it.” She also takes pride in the impact the paper’s stories have made. “Our efforts for three months resulted in the suspension of a police officer who refused to entertain us ‘women’ in the case of violence against a woman,” informs Shanti. It is this attitude of ‘How can women be journalists?’ that bothers people around, she adds.

Susheela, a Benares-based reporter, talks about personal issues. “My mother-in-law didn’t approve when I decided to work in 2012. She boycotted us and eventually I, my husband, three kids and husband’s grandmother had to leave our family house. But mother-in-law imposed a condition that if I give her Rs.3,000 every month, she would accept us back in the house. I refused.” For Susheela, her husband has been a big support.

For many, reporting gives a chance to explore and experience all that is around them. From MNREGA payment issues, pension hassles to civic problems, women’s issues and success stories, these women report it all.

Khabar Lahariya is now live on www.khabarlahariya.org.

(Pictures courtesy Nidhi Qazi)

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‘Onida devil’ creator felicitated

Maharashtra State Government felicitated veteran ad man Gopi Kukde yesterday for his contribution to Advertising in 53rd State Art Exhibition.

For several years starting from the 1980s, Onida TV sets were synonymous with the devil. The devil featuring in their ads, that is. Apart from the catchy ‘Neighbours envy, owner’s pride’ tagline, the devil really made the product stand out amongst its peers back then.

The creator of the Onida devil, Gopi Kukde, also dabbles in ceramics. Taking into account his immense contribution to the field of advertising, the Maharashtra Government felicitated him yesterday at the 53rd edition of the State Art Exhibition. Gopi was felicitated at the hands of the Minister for Higher and Technical Education, Rajesh Tope.

Every year, the Government of Maharashtra conducts a competition within the art circle of the State, in two categories – professional, and student. The awards ceremony felicitates a senior artist from any of art disciplines – Gopi was selected this year.

Gopi has worked with such ad agencies as Everest, Clarion, JWT and Chaitra, and also founded ‘Advertising Avenues’ in 1982. He has worked with such brands as Asian Paints, Glaxo, Paan Pasand and Hawkins. The tagline he created for Paan Pasand, “Shaadi, aur tumse? Kabhi nahin!” became an instant hit in the country. He is currently a Committee Member on the Communication Arts Guild and owns and runs a ceramics studio in the city, named Useless Ceramics.

(Picture courtesy livemint.com)

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Aamir Idrisi will represent India at the US

Aamir Idrisi leaves tonight as part of a US Government-sponsored youth leadership programme; he’s the only Indian to be selected.

Aamir Idrisi, President of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP), has been selected in a multi-country programme run by the US Government, and he will be visiting the US as one of the special invitees. The 22-day programme is titled ‘American Youth: Inspiring Leadership and Civic Engagement’ and will promote civic awareness and youth leadership, apart from emphasising the importance of pluralism, tolerance, and volunteerism as components of civic life in the US. It will start on January 12 and end on February 2, 2013.

Speaking to The Metrognome, Aamir said, “The process for selecting the right delegate happens for a year, and my participation was confirmed six months ago. As part of the programme, we will be visiting universities, colleges and youth organisations, as well as the Muslim organisations based there.” He said that he was the only Indian to be chosen, and is one of four Muslim delegates – the others come from Egypt, Oman and Afghanistan.

The programme’s goal is to examine the concepts of Democracy, Government and Citizenship, and their importance to US civil society. The major goal is to identify the skills necessary for grooming future leaders and explore methods used to develop these skills in critical thinking, decision-making, communication and organisation, and building leadership capacity. Representatives from 40 countries would participate; their itinerary includes visits to Washington D.C, Maryland, New York, Pensacola (Florida), Houston (Texas), Tucson (Arizona), Salt Lake City (Utah) and Portland (Oregon).

Aamir said, “I am very excited and I feel very privileged to represent my country and community on an international platform.
I hope I will be able to learn a lot from the exposure there and the experience will help me to work in a much better way back here in India.”

(Pictures courtesy limo4washingtondc.com and AMP) 

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How we made a movie

A student writes about the experience of being part of a filmmaking team. The film premieres today at Mumbai University.
by Bhagirathi N

The students of Mumbai University’s Department of Communication and Journalism made an in-house film recently. Our team comprised 15 people altogether, including the actors. The film is a romcom and we named it Talaashh: It’s Never The End – and no, our film bears no resemblance to the recent Aamir Khan starrer, apart from sharing a name.

This is the promo of our film:

 

Before I ever thought about being part of a filmmaking team or making a film of my own, in the days when my film experience was devoted solely to watching, criticising or critiquing a film, I had never realised the effort that goes into making a movie. I often confused ‘criticising’ with ‘critiquing’, and realised only later that the first one is about passing judgement on a work while the other one is about a careful judgement considering all the merits and faults of a work.

I learnt all this while and more while working on our film. The credit goes to Riteish Pillai, the film’s editor and director, who thought I could make it, and who I assisted for the film’s sound.

Talaashh: It’s Never The End was written by Prateek Singh. The film’s director and editor, Riteish, was the winner of the Best Documentary prize in 2012 for his entry in the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) festival. Sumit S Angne, director in-charge of the making of the film, won the Best Documentary prize in the ‘Young Film Makers Competition, Chennai’ in the same year.

The film Talaashh is about Nasir’s (Nasir Imam), Abhay’s (Abhay Mishra) and Prateek’s (Prateek Singh) talaash in life, with a whole lot of twists and turns by other characters – Riddhima (Riddhima Sishupal), Singham (Brajesh Mer) and Subhu (Subbaiah Moopanar). Romance and comedy rule the storyline.

Other members of the crew are prizewinners, too – Nasir and Prateek had recently secured second place in the Helen O’Grady International ‘Lets Act’ drama competition held at Sophia’s College on January 5, 2012 for their play The Darkest Desire.

Our film’s Director of Photography was Lavesh Dali, who shot the film on a Canon EOS 550D. Believe it or not, the entire film was shot in a week; the post-production, however, took much longer. Our team devoted a month and two weeks to the film’s overall production.

During the course of post production, we decided to record a theme song since we had a composer, Karthik Rao, in our midst. Karthik composed and voiced the song with Sanchita Kale, while Ashay Sahasrabuddhe contributed the lyrics and Noel D’Souza played the guitar.

 

All in all, it was a really fun experience working on this film. Though I have restricted the roles played by crew members by assigning them posts (which we had to do for the film’s credits), the fact is that each of us put in our best in all aspects of pre-production, production and post-production. We are proud and excited that the film screens today at Garware Auditorium, University of Mumbai (Kalina) at 2 pm, with film director Vishal Inamdar and assistant director Suchitra Varma officiating as chief guests.

 

 

 

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It’s a Mirakle!

This courier company employs hearing and speech impaired persons, thus giving them a good shot at building a stable future.
by Nidhi Qazi

It’s a pleasant morning. Mumbai is in its usual busy mode – office-goers rushing to their respective workplaces, food vendors  serving breakfast, taxiwallahs ferrying people to work, youngsters chirping at kiosks. A lot of early morning energy that the city bustles with is at display. Amidst all this, there is another place that’s as busy – the office of Mirakle Couriers.

Cut to its Churchgate branch office and one finds all the employees busy sorting couriers, Googling destinations for delivery. These are employees busy making their lives meaningful and busy building their lives by overcoming their physical weakness: hearing impairment.

Started in 2010 with just one employee, Mirakle Couriers today employs around 44 hearing and speech-impaired adults in its centres at Andheri and Churchgate. While men are allocated areas for delivering in Mumbai, women look after the sorting, data entry and record-keeping. Although there is no qualification needed, the company looks for those with a basic understanding of English.

I meet Rinku, a young chap who hails from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, who is in his late 20s. Rinku’s designated area of delivery is Nariman Point. So I set off with him on his rounds.

The moment we step out of the office, he uses sign language to explain the surrounding areas. After his explanation, I now know the LIC building, the Air India office, Nariman Point, Fort city, the various public parks, prominent office buildings, and other landmarks. In between, I offer him a pen and paper when I’m unable to understand certain things, but he makes it a point to not use the proffered materials. Instead, he tries and succeeds in expressing his point using sign language.

We reach our first destination. The receptionist and Rinku exchange smiles. The former accepts the package from Rinku, and we move to the next destination. Rinku walks swiftly, and it becomes difficult to keep pace with him. I take a deep breath and follow him. “You like Mumbai?” I ask, and Rinku nods an excited ‘yes’, explaining, “I can’t go back to my village. There is nothing to look forward to there.”

The company follows Indian sign language for all its daily transactions, ranging from pick-up, sorting according to pin codes, and delivery. The management and operations are also sign language-based.

An arts graduate, Rinku works with Mirakle six days a week. How has Mirakle changed his life? He smilingly replies, “I am confident now. I feel good about what I am doing.”

From there, we walk to some more places in the Nariman Point area, amid the hustle bustle, amid the sound of silence between Rinku and me. “When do you plan to get married?” I ask, and he chuckles. Using the signs which spell out ‘love’, he expresses, “When I find love.”

We reach some more destinations with ease. At one point, Rinku gets stuck, but only to find help in the Google Maps. He takes out his mobile phone and finds the directions to an office where he has to deliver the last courier.

Done with all the deliveries, we now head back to the office. And it’s time to say goodbye to Rinku and his colleagues.

What about the competition in the market when big players like Blue Dart, DHL exist? “We do have a very strong competition,” says Nimesh Pawar, Operations Manager, Churchgate branch. In fact not all is hunky dory when it comes to dispelling clients’ cynicism towards deaf and mute. “People do doubt if deaf people can deliver on time; whether they can deliver at all,” he adds.

But all this cynicism is countered and myths are broken as Mirakle does what it really stands for – Delivering Possibilities.

(Picture courtesy Nidhi Qazi)

 

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How a Guinness World Record was created

2,639 women danced at Dombivali this year, and the event made its way to the Guinness Book of World Records. Here’s how.
by The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

It was a sight for the Gods and those recording momentous achievements. On November 10 this year, the well-lit KDMC Grounds in Dombivli played host to a Kaikottikali dance event, in which a stunning 2,639 women danced to synchronised steps. The women – girls as young as 13, a woman as old as 74 and all ages in between – were dressed alike in traditional Kerala cream-coloured saris, and the performance, while astonishing in its scope, was good enough to qualify as an entry to the Guinness Book of World Records this year.

Speaking to The Metrognome, event coordinator Girish Nair (36, pictured at left), explained the logistical planning that went into making the record. “Last year’s dance (also at the Mumbai Pooram, a three-day annual Kerala festival) made it to the Limca Book of Records. After that, we decided to try for the Guinness Book of World Records. Accordingly, we started preparing for the event since January last year.”

The actual preparations involved making a video of the dance steps, so that all participants could study the video and learn the choreography. “We got the visuals for the dance set up, finalised the dress code for the dance, and then started meeting the Samajams in the city,” Girish explained. The Samajams are located wherever south Indians reside in reasonably large numbers, and apart from the big 30 to 35 Samajams in the city, there are several smaller ones as well.

“We asked them to spread the word about the event, and get women to participate,” Nair said. “We even went to temples to inform about the event. And not just Malayalis, but even Muslims, Biharis, UPites and Maharashtrians entered their names for the event.” However, despite a registration of 2,800 names, only 2,639 women participated – the dropouts were mostly college students appearing for exams.

Dancing to a new record

The managing committee registered on the Guinness World Records website. “We submitted the application, after which they scrutinised the entry and approved it. After this, they told us that an adjudicator would come down to see the event – we paid £4,500 for a team of five to come and see the performance. They came down to see the dance.”

And a Guinness World Record was made.

(Pictures courtesy Girish Nair)

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