Vicky Nanjappa

Vicky Nanjappa

It has been 26 long years in the profession which was for me a passion. I always told youngsters, ‘ do journalism as a passion and never as a job.’ Well then what happens when the profession does not excite you anymore. You wander in the hills.

As a cub reporter when I came to Bengaluru, I remember me talking to my chief reporter at a news paper called Vijay Times. I would be lying if I said I was talking to her. I was begging her to give me a chance. Thank you Roja madam. I was put on a one week trial period. It began on a Monday and until Friday I had nothing. I was standing outside smoking and a friend of mine came up to me and asked, why am I so tensed. I told him my reality. He gave me a tip and I followed it and bang, there was a baby hiding racket story by evening. I quietly put the story in the dock where all the rest of the reporters would keep theirs too. 6 pm, the evening meeting was done and I was asked whether this was my story. I said yes, with a thought that they are going to bin it. My chief told me it is the lead story. I was elated and so nervous as well.

The next thing the editor calls me in and asks who exactly I am and whether I was the one who wrote the story? I told him, ‘yes sir’ and he immediately called the HR and said offer him the letter of appointment. I couldn’t thank him enough. However I had a request. “ Sir please do not give me a byline. I will become arrogant after my first story itself.” He was quite taken aback and then smiled and said, “ I like that approach.” By the way on the internet people take by-lines for other’s stories.

Life went on and then I was offered the legal beat and I was like what just hit me. I would be dealing with advocates, judges and contempts. Today when I think back, I think that was the best thing that could have happened. It taught me to be serious, correct, knowledgable and a cat of all things. At that point in time the VRL Group run newspaper did not have much advertisements. This made the crime and court reporters the most important and we had become the space fillers with a minimum of 40 stories between ourselves.

Management was not quite satisfied with the circulation and one evening all of us got a message saying that the Director of the company wanted to meet us at 7 am the next morning. The nervousness all of us had, the less said the better. I was the first at the office. Mr. Ramanand Bhat was seated and asked me, why another newspaper had the story and we did not. Instead of waiting for my chief reporter to come and explain like the idiot that I am I said, “ Sir we will it have it tomorrow.” The replies that followed, “ if you are one day late, how do you call yourself a journalist.” A sheepish sorry followed.

My card has two sides:

All my colleagues had arrived and then began that brutal meeting that if all of us do not pull up our socks then he would close down the newspaper. Bhat sir, the director of the VRL group had been appointed as the executive managing editor also known as EME. ( Today’s generation should not confuse this with EMI). He pulled out his visiting card and said he has been appointed as the EME and if this does not work out, there is another side of the card (Director VRL) and this designation will always be safe. “”What a Line””

Life was clear. It was time to buck up. A bunch of us met up and decided it was time to wipe the competition out.

And then came the barrage. Each reporter in VT was on his or her toes at all times. We would beg sources to get stories. Not just that, also tell the source not to give it to anyone. Our subscriptions soared and there were some reporters who had planted moles in our desk to tell them what all of us had done. Phew what a time!

At the High Court, I was having fun with the stories. Reading legal books, judgments, arguing with the lawyers. The stories that all of us churned were really good.

The Telgi scam: 

Before going any further, I would want to tell you that the recent serial on the Telgi scam was a rotten apple. Directed poorly and written by someone, who hardly knows the inner details. Am I right M T Nanaiah sir (Telgi’s lawyer then). Okay moving ahead. The Telgi story was hotting up. Of course, I did use my Kodava connection with Nanaiah sir to get all the dope on the case. Tapes of his interrogation would be parked at various locations by sources and we would go there and quietly pick it up. I would not be lying if I said that there was a certain amount of jealously amidst the seniors in the office. After all that effort, we only would realise that the story would be parked either on page 2 or 3.

The Telgi trial was taking place at the Parapana Agrahara or central jail in Bengaluru. To travel 30 kilometres on my fourth hand motor cycle was not easy. But it was pure pleasure. Telgi would appear, slip in a chit and that would be a story. He was trying to say that there were many more behind the scam and this would be our story. Not romanticising him here. Just the story mattered, no matter where it came from. There is more to this case in the following paragraphs.

The sale:

I was at the High Court and I got a call from one of my editors. He said congratulations. “Your salary has been increased by 30 per cent.” I was elated and had just two additional Mysore Paks at the Nandini canteen at the High Court. I could afford that now. When my salary jumped from Rs 4,000 to Rs 8,000, I could not believe my luck. Now to 20k. Now that was something. Although I was not getting the logic as everyone got a jump such as that.

Before that, let me tell you all we reporters would get an allowance of Rs 1,000 for travel and Thursday evenings at the beginning of every month all we reporters would queue up for that amount. What a leveller that was. Before getting in line all would be talking before being called in. Let me tell you about some of the conversations. “ I just met with the commissioner. I was having tea with the Chief Justice. No, no, I had a meeting with the Chief Minister. I had to meet the Home Minister.” Okay then the most important call comes. “ Alright all come and stand in line and produce the bills. Like sheepish fellows we would stand and when the accountant would raise some doubts, all of us were, “ Desai sir, please clear it, I am begging you.” No CJ, no commissioner, no CM, nothing at all. It was reality.

By this time, the circulation had picked up like crazy and then the management decided to sell the newspaper. It was hardly an easy time for all of us. The tension and all of us asked, ‘now what.” We were assured that all would be fine. Work in our respective beats continued, but at a really slow pace. Then bam, it was sold and there was an eerie quiet at one of the most bustling offices. 

Bhat sir would not be with us and the new management said that we would be getting a new editor. ‘Great.’ The guess work began and trust me for all the punter reporters we called ourselves, none of us got this information right on who the editor would be.

K sir:

I was at the High Court and my chief called me and said, ‘we have a new editor. K  Sir.’ Oh wow, I knew hell had begun, because he came with such a reputation and what a task master he was. I returned from the court and met him and he didn’t care enough to even smile. I was tense and kept thinking how many more changes now. Over a period of time I realised that sir, wanted nothing but a good story. I pushed myself harder to get his attention and of course the page one slot. I did an interview with the then Lokayukta and bam, it was on lead. What a relief. I was getting his attention at last.

That made me push harder and harder and what a golden period that was. The Telgi scam’s first narco analysis on CD was with me. We used those photos for the story on whatever he said during the narco. By the way none of us knew how to take a screenshot of the video. So we shot the video with our Nokia phone cameras. It was a rage and we were in demand by the television journalists. Just when I returned to office, feeling on top of the world, sir tells me, “ the entire media is chasing this story. We need to have something different. That is the person he is. I was so irritated at that time, but that taught me to push harder. Another thing about sir. If he liked the work we had done, he would drop off a small chit saying, ‘good job’ at our desk. Trust me, it was bigger than any appraisal. 

We were all pushed so hard to do good stories and we would deliver each time. Sir also had another habit of just completely ignoring you for a full week. Today, I realise, he wanted to bring our egos down for a bit. 

I can’t even begin to tell you the kind of stories that were done at that time. The CM and Home Minister visiting the jail to get some ransom. The Jayalalithaa trial. Although there are too many to name, one I would like to share which is a favourite of all time. It was whether the police could rely on the evidence of a pet parrot whose master had committed suicide. I came to office with a photograph of  the parrot sitting on the dead body. I was asked in office, if I had drawn that photo. The story went on page one, but there was more to that. I managed to dig out a Supreme Court judgment on whether an animal’s evidence could be admissible in court. The answer is no.

Before you are 30:

The office had a couch and a large space where all of use to play cricket until the page was done. One day while talking, sir called me and asked, “ when on earth are you planning to do a good story.” I felt so insulted and hurt. He told me, “Vicky your best story should come before you are 30.” I was all of 28 at that time. I went back home, racked my brains and the next day in office I told sir, “ I am going to undergo a narco analysis test. That was the flavour those days, considering the Telgi CD was all over the place. He told me take your time. I told him the next day that I was sure.

The day of the narco, I messaged sir and told him, “ I am extremely nervous sick sir.” He told me, “ it is okay even if you do not want to go with it. I appreciate the fact that you even decided to take the risk.” Those words were so soothing and there I was undergoing the narco. Of course, sir took a week to publish. I kept asking him and there was never any response. One day when we were talking outside, I just told, “ sir I think some other publication will break my narco story.” He laughed and said don’t worry it will be up today. It appeared and it propelled me to another world.

I know why he did that. He never wanted me to become arrogant and keep me grounded so that I always push for another story. 

At the end of this chapter, I want to say, “ ThankYou Sir. There has and there will never be a leader like you.”

Sir left:

Our management then decided to turn the newspaper into a tabloid. It was clear that they wanted to shut down the competition. Sir was never happy with this decision. All of us petitioned the management, but that didn’t work as well. Sir left and so did a bunch of us. It was that feeling that journalism was sinking. I won’t write anything more on this as it is extremely emotional for me. Sir and I did stay in touch, but most of the conversations were about me cribbing out how horrid this profession is becoming.

Coming up next: Flashback:

(This is a first of a three part series)