The radio was an important fixture during my grandfather’s life. Returning from London after studying medicine, he brought back a radio for my grandma. She acknowledged the gift by crafting an elaborately embroidered cover for the radio. For all practical purposes, it was my grandfather’s radio.
He was All India Radio‘s most faithful listener ever. He would listen to Hindi, English and Bengali news in the mornings. The newspaper vendor would soon throw two rolls of newspapers that on our doorstep. Sanskrit news would start as he settled down to read the newspapers. In the evening he would listen to the news on his rocking chair one last time before sleeping.
For him, listening to the news was an active process. Stopping everything else, he would sit down on a chair, look at the radio and solemnly hear the news. Having experienced the horrors of the partition, he did not want to be caught unawares ever again.
Growing up, the radio was no longer the prime news provider for us. Dad would read the newspaper while my mother listened to the songs played on Vividh Bharati. The newspaper was not just about news and analysis; it was also the benchmark on the English language. Baba would say, “When you read the newspaper, keep a dictionary handy to look up the meanings of words you do not understand.” The radio joined us on the dinner table with the news at 9.
The radio was used largely for entertainment – until the television killed it. Our black and white TV lay in the drawing room, and the radio in the bedroom. The radio was like a family member and was allowed in the bedroom, the television was not. Television then became colour and moved on to confuse us with five hundred cable channels. The radio stayed on forgotten and when it needed repairs, it irritated me. It was expected to age gracefully and quietly die.
Then the internet happened. I now no longer have a radio at home. I listen to it in my car instead. The television is now the prime source of entertainment. The newspaper is treated a lot more casually. While on vacations, we stop reading the newspaper. I still enjoy reading the papers on Sundays. On the other days, the newspaper is a graveyard. It carries old and dead news. Breaking news is what I get on Twitter. The twenty-something people are not reading newspapers any more. If it is not breaking news, we are happy living in the world of status updates.
Everyone is a producer of news – about themselves. We no longer have time to read beyond the headlines. We are not about depth any more. News on television competes with reality shows and guess who wins. A friend’s status update competes with events unfolding in the world outside. My attention span has become shorter. The newspaper is just a victim.
Respond with an article.