Sep 13, 2003 01:18 PM
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(Updated Sep 13, 2003 01:18 PM)
In my youngster days reading The Statesman was the done thing and was a symbol of one being HS( “ High Society”), such was the prestige and snob value attached to the newspaper that anyone who did not sing paeans of praise or profess blind devotion to either : “ The Hindu” or “ The Statesman” was looked down upon as a LS !
Big names like Nani Palkhivala etc. were associated with the paper and Cushrow Irani was a force to reckon with. The Bhadralok of Calcutta and highbrow intellectuals all over , could not imagine life without Statesman.
For all those preparing for competitive exams like IAS and IFS etc. The Hindu and The Statesman were compulsory prescriptions.The quality of English was superb. I started reading the paper as an IAS aspirant when Delhi edition was started and Kuldip Nayar was the Editor.
What a galaxy of writers and journalists The Statesman produced! All the celebrity journalists of post-independent history, Kuldip Nayar, Nihal Singh ( who was the foreign correspondent), BG Verghese, Hiranmoy Karlekar, Swaminathan Iyer, S Viswam, and many more were at sometime or the other associated with the Statesman. In addition, people of high stature like Palkhivala, Piloo Mody et all used to contribute articles. The London newsletter by Philip Knightley and Washington bulletin by Nihal Singh used to be added attractions.
The editorial page was fantastic and there was no hesitation in calling a spade a spade. Statesman never spared anybody however high and mighty.
The stellar role played by Statesman in defying the stifling emergency is stuff legends are made of.
But my father was happy with Frank Moraes and the Indian Express, our differences lead me to drop subscription to the Statesman, we could not afford 2 newspapers, but I kept on reading it here and there.
Times changed, tastes changed, Statesman could keep pace with neither the times nor THE TIMES and ultimately The Telegraph stole march. I do not know what is the haalat of The Statesman today, but I do have nostalgic memories of those great times of The Statesman and I miss it.
Yaad na jaaye beete dinon ki ……
