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Tag: Anil Dharker

  • The sudden death of journalist, writer and lately, literary festival owner has sent shockwaves, writes Ranjona Banerji

    RIP, Anil Dharker

    Anil Dharker

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiThe sudden death of journalist, writer and lately, literary festival owner Anil Dharker on the morning of March 26, has sent shock waves of grief through the media industry and the larger world of readers. Although details are awaited, it appears that he had a scheduled bypass surgery on Thursday.

    Dharker was a man who wore many hats, successfully. He was editor of some of India’s most well-known publications, typical of the breezy Bombay style unlike the turgid journals of Delhi. Like the Bombay of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Dharker brought freedom of expression and high literary and cultural content to the journals he edited. These included The Illustrated Weekly of India, The Independent, Debonair, Mid-day and Sunday Mid-Day.

    Although he is most noted for his work in the print media, Dharker had a varied career which included academics, working for an architectural firm, films (as head of NFDC) and television. He was a man of ideas, known for his idiosyncratic ways and style – including his well-kept mane of hair and must-play daily game of tennis at the Bombay Gym!

    Dharker was a prolific columnist for a number of publications, writing about issues as varied as theatre, tennis, politics and social norms. His writing had both wit and content, and reflected his strong liberal stance. He also wrote several books, prominent amongst which was The Romance Salt, on Gandhi’s Dandi march and that magical substance.

    From 2010, he was best known as the founder of the Mumbai International Literary Festival, one of the best of its kind. It attracted writers and presenters from all over the world and of course, its fair share of controversy!

    I never worked with Anil, but I knew him well over the years. As a columnist and later as a friend. He was a massive tennis and Roger Federer fan and like many diverse people, we share messages as the tennis great goes through his ups and downs. Anil’s column on Federer’s changing backhand years ago is one of the best I’ve read. He would joke that he understood Federer because they were both Leos!

    This loss is very sudden and for many of us friends, readers, Mumbai journalists and will take time to process.

    Deepest condolences to his daughter, his partner, his sisters and extended family and friends. We share in your shock and grief.

  • Every Thursday, Ranjona Banerji will write about a grouse. Either spewing venom or tongue-in-cheek

    [MxM Journalism Review] Why must TV news depend on print eds for analyses

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Where would TV journalists be without their colleagues in print? (I thought I’d say cousins but then that would make me related to TVwallahs too so…) Every time there’s some big issue to discuss (which in TV land is every day), out come a whole array of print seniors (and sometimes not so seniors).

     

    During the election coverage on Tuesday we had Shekhar Gupta, Vinod Mehta, Neerja Chowdhury, Manini Chatterjee, Siddharth Vardarajan, Vandita Mishra, Hartosh Singh Bal… and many more worthies.

     

    I’m thrilled for my friends and colleagues in print who I see on TV all the while at other times – Ayaz Memon, Sidharth Bhatia, Anil Dharker, Arati Jerath… At any time you are likely to see Dileep Padgaonkar, Bachi Karkaria, Tavleen Singh giving their considered opinion on this and that. The list is endless and I apologise to anyone I have left out. I don’t mean it. But it makes me wonder about our esteemed TV anchors and editors. Do they trust their own judgement so little that they cannot carry a programme by themselves? Have they not managed to hone their opinion creating abilities? And if that’s true, what have they been doing for all these years in TV?

     

    TV wallahs often feel that print journalists are too critical of them. But when they do nothing to change those perceptions and instead feed them by calling print journalists as experts all the while? How often do you see print journalists on BBC and CNN?
    My advice to TV wallahs is: have a little faith in yourselves.

     

    Having said that, I then remember the columns which Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagorika Ghosh and Barkha Dutt write for Hindustan Times (since few other print publications condescend to give them a platform and rightly so) and I really wonder at myself!