Yes, I'm yet to fall asleep...
Early on the 30th Headlines Today journalist Soumya Vishwanathan was shot dead 200m from her home.
The fact it was a murder came to light only after the post-mortem found a bullet lodged below her earlobe. Initially, it was taken to be an accident.
Soumya's shift got over at 12am — but she stayed back thanks to the Malegaon and Modasa blasts story breaking late.
I should know. Our Frontpage was delayed, initially because of the above incidents and then because of the US bailout package being rejected... Both leads on the page turning on its head. The day was a typical nightmare situation for the desk.
But Soumya volunteered to stay back to help her channel — her skills as a troubleshooter were legendary.
As my flatmate often told me about Soumya, his colleague: "If you assigned any task to Soumya, you could rest assured it would be taken care of with no cause for complaint."
No wonder she rose so swiftly to the position of producer.
I've never met her yet I,ve heard a lot about her from many... from my friend who was with Headlines Today when Soumya joined as a trainee to my flatmate whose colleague she was.
But from what I can understand, she was ever-redy with a smile to help others and go the extra mile.
Which makes the incident all the more tragic and scary.
She belonged to that rare breed of TV journalists, ok let me be blunt, desk people, who are experts at what they do, are not hungry for attention or fame, humble and helpful, who go about silently with their work — the faceless footsoldiers of media.
Tell me, how many of you knew of her before this tragic incident? I doubt if it would be many outside the profession, friends or relatives.
People like us, who cut their teeth in Calcutta, often find fault with a lot of stuff.
After I shifted to Delhi, I often used to lment that the desks in Calcutta were more meticulous. Often I'd express disgust at the "Chalta hai" attitude of the desks.
My friends here refuted my arguments with one exmple — Soumya. If only all desk people were like her.
And all the stuff her colleagues spoke of on her channel, they weren't made up... most trainees at Headlines Today generally look up to Zakka or Soumya.
In fact its a pity so many more journalists have been denied her presence in their formative years... that girl would have gone far.
She imbued so much of the values that were hardwired into us at Calcutta. She was a gem.
I remember my early days in Calcutta when I would stay back or go in early or do both... such was the addiction for news.
I hope this incident does not scare people who want to follow her values. I sincerely do. Indian media is in serious shortage of desk-staff. It would help if such people even had 10 per cent of Soumya's dedication. It sounds heartless, but even in her death she's possibly gifted her channel their highest TRPs.
Such incidents may be commonplace in the Capital, but it hits you hard when someone so young from your fraternity is snatched away. It makes you think if it's worth all that.
We journalists can handle a non-existent social life, odd and long working hours, intense pressure and impossible deadlines. But is it worth paying for with your life?
People, please wake up. The next one could be someone you know.
Soumya, I regret that I never met you. But I hope we meet a million Soumyas in our lives.
And then I'm sure you'll be smiling away to glory wherever you are — for having helped so many.
Rest in Peace
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