Some Reminiscences

by BIMAN SEN

On June 27, 1998, our beloved Nikhilda left us forever. Months have passed by; still I have not been able to reconcile myself with the idea that he is no more in our midst. However, I can feel his presence, whenever I sit down to write about some complex problem and get stuck on some ideas or suitable vocabulary; I can see his sweet smiling face assuring me not be dishear-tened but to think. I always got the right answer. This feeling, I am sure, will last till the last day of life.

I knew Renudi (Mrs Chakravartty) much earlier than Nihkilda, because of my association with late Dr B.C. Roy since my college days. I came closer to Dr Roy, when he became the Chief Minister of West Bengal and Chairman of the governing bodies of various institutions of higher learning like the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Jadavpur University, etc. and I was associated with these institutions as a representative of the Government of India. Moreover Dr Roy was a close friend of my Professor, late Dr Meghnad Saha, FRS.

The first time I saw Nikhilda was when he was deeply involved with the ‘Bengal Famine’, the greatest man-made disaster ever to take place on the earth. It was in 1943, when Nikhilda alongwith Sunil Janah, the famous photographer who immortalised the tribals of India in his book—a pictorial study of Tribals of East India sponsored by UNESCO—were collecting materials on the Great Bengal Famine for publication to make the public aware of the catastrophe.

I really come to know Nikhilda after he settled down in Delhi and started his journal Mainstream, sometime in the early sixties, precisely sometime in 1962, just after my return from England completing my assignment there. However, I came closer to him only after my return from Cyprus in 1963, thanks to his younger brother ‘Badal’—Niranjan Chakravartty —who was a very dear friend of mine and who had just joined NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) as the Head of the Publications Division after relinquishing his post as Principal of the School of Printing Technology, Jadavpur, West Bengal.

After I came nearer to Nikhilda, I soon realised that I was one of the few luckier persons who had the good fortune to interact with one of the great intellectuals of contemporary India.

Before I met Nikhilda, I used to write for professional journals. It is Nikhilda who advised me to change my style of writing and orient it to cater for the general public. This will increase the readership of my articles, he said. Since then, I started writing for publications in journals like Yojana, Mainstream, Patriot and others. For my transformation from a technical writer to a freelance journalist, Nikhilda was mainly responsible. Thereafter, he became my friend, philosopher and guide. Nikhilda was a good evaluator of a person and his/her capacity and limitation.

I have published a large number of features in different journals and also book reviews. Most of them were written at the request of the editors and publishers. The total number may be around 60/65.

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NIKHILDA had a subtle way of getting things done by a person. I remember how he used to provoke and encourage me to write on different topics/subjects. After the first Antarctica expedition, one day he told me that Mainstream had not published anything about the expendition, could I try something? I got the signal. Immediately, I wrote a feature on the Antarctica expedition and its impact. It was published in Mainstream. One day he asked me whether I had thought about anything regarding the Morarji Desai Government’s policy on language. That produced my article on English and our future published in one of the issues of Mainstream. Mainstream started a debate on Indian political develop-ments. One day, Nikhilda asked me whether I could intervene in the debate and express my views as a technocrat. I did it. It resulted in my article “Indian Development—no dillydally anymore†—published on June 12, 1982 in Mainstream. There are many more examples I can give of his encouragement to me to write on various subjects—published not only in Mainstream, but also other papers or journals like Yojana, University News, Productivity, Science and Culture, Patriot, etc.

Nikhilda’s greatest virtue was his untiring patience and amazing tolerance of the short-comings and faults of others. His commitment to journalism was unquestionable and unparalleled.

In this selfish world, if he wanted to promote himself, he could have done so. He had enough opportunity to be a politician; if he wanted to be, he could have been a Cabinet Minister. If Nikhilda wanted to have a cosy job, he could have done so as a University Professor or an efficient bureaucrat. If he wanted to make millions, he could have joined the legal profession. However, his devotion to journalism was so strong that he remained in the profession till the last day.

Nikhilda’s fairness and gentleness were well known, but those who tested his firmness will never forget him.

Nikhilda was not only the doyen of journalists but also considered an ideal model for his dedication, honesty, hard work for and commitment to journalism. His biography can be a good guide book for students of journalism. I don’t know whether he had left any material for his autobiography.

The media in general and journalism in particular owe a great debt of gratitude to Nikhilda. The least they could do is to start a Foundation and a Trust in his memory for promotion of journalism of the highest standard and make Mainstream an effective forum for the intelligentsia to contribute to the future develop-ment of the media as an instrument of social change and act as the fourth pillar of democracy and conscience-keeper of the nation.

(Mainstream, June 26, 1999)

The author was a UNESCO expert on Educational Planning and Administration. He was also a Member, National Commission for the History of Science (INSA).