Few People to Reckon in Life for Good or Bad Reasons….

In his book called Imitation of Christ, c.1420, Thomas à Kempis once said, “Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be”.

Kempis’ statement touched my heart as I opened my laptop, to putting my memories in black and white about people to reckon in life for Good, Bad and Ugly reasons. True, I never tried to make others like me, but I only wished one to be not bad to me when I am not bad to them. So to start with, I think it is always to have a better ending than a better start. So my first character should always be …..

Gautam Paul, Chief Reporter, Sakalbela:

During my short span of 19 years in journalism with media houses like Ananda Bazar Patrika, Hindustan Times, Equinox Media Limited (Another failed Indo-US joint Venture), German Magazine—Backview and Saradha Printing & Publishing Pvt. Ltd, I have come across more than a million people in my life. Some were too good, some were bad from Day 1, some changed with the passage of time, just like any other normal human being, but I have never met a man like Gautam Paul, who is none other than a lizard (girgit).

Again if I wish to quote, Liz Armbruster, who in his website wrote: “In what you say of another, apply the test of kindness, necessity and truth, and let nothing pass your lips without a 2/3 majority” I wouldn’t be wrong.

Yes, terms like good, bad and ugly—are all relatives. Some people may be good to me, but might be bad to others. Even I can be bad to many and good to a very small section of people. But how can everyone, whoever I met, had same opinion about this half-bald, winky-eyed nearing 60-man with all pretentions, expressed same opinion, what I have about this man!

I met this man in early 2006, when the Resident Editor, Hindustan Times, Rajiv Bagchi told me to start covering the corridors of power—the Writers’ Buildings—along with my colleagues, Romita Dutta and Tapan Das.

The year 2006 was a hot bed of news at the Writers’ after Left Front then-blue-eyed poster boy, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, took the oath as the Chief Minister of the Seventh Left Front Government in West Bengal. I was a very new face in Kolkata media market then spending almost a decade in the cow-belt of India. Rajivda might have thought when other newspapers were sending six to seven very senior reporters; Hindustan Times should at least have three and obviously two to three ministers or MLAs in that new Left Front Cabinet were either my great friends, or were closely known to my family.

One September afternoon, in the third floor, just in front of the then state irrigation minister, Subhash Nashkar, late Chandan Neogy introduced me to a very submissive man who forgot to smile in the murky waters of life. From 2006 to 2010—I covered the Writers’, power sector and lifestyle diseases for Hindustan Times. But never found Gautam Paul, a senior reporter of Vernacular daily, Sambad Pratidin, taking notes or discussing about a byline story of his that came out in page-1 lead or as anchor—rather found him busy either in then social welfare, women & child development minister, a RSP MLA from Balurghat, Biswanath Choudhury’s room with a cup of Darjeeling tea, or spitting venom about his executive editor, Kunal Ghosh or fellow colleague, Sutirtho.

I thought, Gautam Paul might be a subject of change of guard in his newspaper, which is very common in media world, like many, as I never met Kunal-da, nor was close to Sutirtho. Only knew that Gautam Paul is very ill-paid staff of Pratidin as his “mentor” Anjan Basu—the first editor of Pratidin. But never knew his closeness with Biswanath Choudhury was only because his wife works with an NGO and the minister helps that organisation getting fund from the government. Gautam Paul’s financial condition was not sound—he neither had a mobile phone, nor used to wear branded shirts and trousers. He even used to smoke a very poor brand and love smoking Classic, whenever I offered him or he asked for one.

Sakalbela….

My short span of eight months with Sakalbela was a real eye-opener for me. The Gautam Paul I saw in the corridors of the Writers’ and one who, probably jumped a long just to grab the biggest chair at DN-23, 9th Floor, Knowledge Hub, Sector-V, was just a different man. True, what Jim Rohn said: If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree. But even though I am not constant like a tree, how can I change an approaching 60, half-bald, under-educated, womanizer, who used to look at women colleagues, some of them are his daughter’s age, very dirty way, shares filthy jokes and knows nothing about journalism, modern style of reporting but only about Asia’s famous Red-Light Area—Sonagachi.

It’s a real shame for me. A real blot on Vernacular journalism. First I was the only one to protest his misdeeds. But after some days, I started all my hard works are either underplayed or started missing from tomorrow’s newspaper. This social-blot had a nexus with the news editor, Jayanta Sinha, who tried to transfer me to Agartala, then to Silchar, and finally to New Delhi, as I was a threat to them.

People of Sakalbela used to make fun at this half-bald man for his uncontrolled expression of perversion towards a woman-reporter, of his daughter’s age! Some even started calling by “Gopal” the first king of Pal Dynasty.

I always failed to work under half-literate, unscrupulous, corrupt heads, so started searching for job. I do believe, God was with me then as He is now with me….so in just two days, I got offer from Globsyn Technologies Limited and ICICI Bank Limited. The name Bikram Dasgupta was something that used to send sparks inside me during my days with Kolkata Hindustan Times—because of his contribution towards building Sector V, conceptualizing intelligent buildings for developing IT-hub in Bengal—the model other states imitated after Infinity was made operational, giving first green building to Eastern India—Globsyn Crystal, bagging the largest ever foreign export contract in Indian IT-history, that too, in early 90s and for many other reasons.

Jayanta Sinha virtually lost his job after I was successful using all my political and administrative clouts to stop my transfer from Kolkata, and Gautam Paul is presently having nothing in Sakalbela, except that big sponzy Godrej chair.

God forgive them. But to this unscrupulous social blot, I must quote Robert Louis Stevenson: Anyone can carry his burden, however hard, until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, till the sun goes down. And this is all life really means.