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Mainstream, VOL L No 46, November 3, 2012

Two Eminent Editors and a Young Reporter

Wednesday 7 November 2012, by Bharat Dogra

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Several eminent contemporaries of Nikhil Chakravartty have already written about his many-sided accomplishments, and what I can add may appear relatively quite insignificant in comparison. Nevertheless, I feel that it may add a new dimension to the understanding of Nikhil-ji if I relate my experiences of how this eminent editor interacted with a very young and inexpe-rienced reporter.

Yes, I was a very young and inexperienced writer (age 21 years) when I first met Nikhil-ji in 1977. Actually while being a student I had been free-lancing since 1972 (so this year in 2012 I’m completing four decades of my free-lance journalism!) but as a full-time writter I had worked then for only one year. So you can imagine my sense of nervousness when I went to meet such a reputed editor in the office of Mainstream which was then located in Gole Market. If I remember correctly, Nikhil-ji’s reputation as a courageous editor was at its peak then following his fearless stand during the Emergency.

However, Nikhil-ji immediately put me at ease with his soft voice and easy talk. He was very busy but he did not let me feel the pressure of time. What surprised me quite a bit (and very pleasantly too) was that he was already familiar with my writings and had some high words of praise for this. I now feel in a more balanced perspective that the praise was more than what I strictly deserved, but his intention was to encourage me. On the basis of his vast experience, he had a better idea than I did at that time of the difficulties that lay ahead of me. So the kind words he spoke were not so much a balanced estimate of my actual work; their purpose was more to encourage me and keep me going in difficult times.
In fact when I was in difficult times words of encouragement such as those spoken by great persons like Nikhil Chakravartty helped me a lot to keep up my spirits and to keep me going.

After this, whenever I went to meet him, he always received me with warmth and kindness. I cherish these memories of meeting him a few times at the Mainstream office.

Here I cannot resist the temptation of also recording my meetings with another editor of Mainstream, namely, C.N. Chitta Ranjan. He was an example of how a man of great achievements can remain so genuinely modest. I met him at a time when he was recovering from a heart attack (more than one, if I remember correctly) and yet was so considerate and kind in his conversations, putting aside his much bigger difficulties to listen to the small problems of a young, inexperienced writer.

Bharat Dogra
C-27 Raksha Kunj,
Paschim Vihar
New Delhi- 110063
Tel: 25255303

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