My beginnings at news

My beginnings at news

It was the end of 1980 or 81 when I applied to read news at AIR. At the audition I saw thousands of people. We were all huddled into different rooms, some spilling out into the corridors as well. There were people from far off places, as well as locals. Many of my colleagues, already working with AIR in different capacities and different departments were also there. Some of us were college mates as well as fellow broadcasters who hung around together, doing things together, almost as though there was safety in numbers.

We had no idea what was expected of us, except that perhaps we would be quizzed on news and current affairs and of course a voice test taken. Some asked each other questions, on the days happenings and also names of prominent people that seemed difficult to pronounce.

Anyway, one by one, we went in. Inside the room, there was no one in sight, the only large glass window was also boarded up. The room was carpeted, with white acoustic boards on the walls, a clock and a microphone were the only other props. Just before I entered I was handed a paper with a few words on it and a paragraph. As soon as I reached the centre of the room where the microphone was, a voice crackled on the speaker and asked me to begin reading into the microphone, everything that was on my sheet. It was a little scary, but that’s what broadcasting is all about, sitting in room all alone and communicating to somebody, anybody, everybody out there.

So I began.... half way into the sheet, I was thanked and asked to step out. Just like that, no explanation, no trace of approval or disapproval. Outside, the sheet was taken away, as fast as it was given and I was asked to check the bulletin board in a week or so, for the results.

As soon as I stepped out everyone wanted to know what I was asked and what I did….. the words, were they difficult or familiar etc. It was of no use I said as different sheets were given to everyone and no one could remember all the different words on them. Anyway, I did get selected, but there was another round of interviews to clear before we got anywhere near the newsroom. 

The newsroom was a sacred space for many of us. As announcers we saw the newsreaders, many of them, veterans, come to the studio at the appointed hour to read the bulletin and they would come in quietly read and leave, as quietly. Accompanied by a busy editor who would put newscards under the newsreader’s nose or a peon who would rush in with the latest updates, it was high drama, to watch and you had to be quiet through it all. The only microphone that was live was the newsreader’s and so you had to make sure you did not do anything to distract or draw attention away from her/him. While this is happening,  you have get the next program tape or jingle or announcement cued, so that as soon as she or he said, “ That’s the end of the news”, you were ready to go live again.

So that was the brief window, when you got to see the great masters at work, and marvel at their composure, their utter professionalism, their perfect diction and modulation and unflappable quality. I would watch as though this was a performance just for me, but as unobtrusively as possible… I got to see the legendary Roshan Menon, Pamela Singh, Latika Ratnam, Surajit Sen , Sushil Jhaveri, Sushma Sharma, Sphurti Sinha, Barun Haldar Vijay Daniels, Harish Kashyap, Manohar Kaul…names one had only heard, over the radio. All at close quarters. 

The time spent in the studio then was precious,  it also made you think about how you would perform in the same circumstances. Early lessons on how certain words and certain news items were to be handled, time management and the voice modulation from one item to another.

Coming back to the interviews, I had a tough round, there were several people on the interview panel, some I had no clue of, some I recognized from the organization and there were others who were there because they had to be there. Anyway I was asked questions on my experience in radio, familiarity with news and current affairs, even commentaries and why I wanted to do news. I was even asked whether I would stick around or was I doing this only as a hobby, a pastime. 

Soon I learnt I was selected and had another interview with the Chief News Reader Mr Sushil Jhaveri. Mr Jhaveri was very "English" in his habits and so I was a little nervous. But he immediately put me at ease and appreciated my voice and style and told me that he would soon put me on the bulletins to read. It was the Asian games and so I was busy with the games as well, as I had been shortlisted to do commentary for football and also as an announcer under the legendary Melville De Mellow. So one had to flit between AIR studios, Nehru Stadium and Pragati Maidan and attend college as well. It was only getting tougher. 

AIR decided to broadcast sports bulletins of 5 minutes duration, every half hour and they had to be done at breakneck speed, so that coverage of all the disciplines could be done. Only a few newsreaders could do these special bulletins as they needed speed, accuracy and calmness. I was the only one selected among the newcomers and enjoyed the racy bulletins. Each time I would urge my editors to get me more items to read so that I would be able to do justice to more and more disciplines, which otherwise got trashed.

Reading bulletins for the Asian Games gave me tremendous confidence and also practice with strange sounding names and nationalities. But before that Mr Jhaveri did put us through some training by engaging me and a couple of others to do some research. We used to arrive at the newsroom early, and be with him till his shift ended, which was a five hour shift with four or five bulletins to read. 

We saw how he corrected his copy and also how he marked it. But more importantly we had to read the papers in the morning and take down the most difficult names or words to pronounce and if they were regional names, then go to the different language units in AIR and ask the newsreaders for the native pronunciation. We had to write down these down phonetically in Devanagiri and then after having got them checked by Mr Jhaveri inscribe them in the dictionary, that would be available to all newsreaders to consult, as well as, copies of the daily updates sent to the different language news departments.

This daily exercise helped me immensely,  as one interacted with regional newsreaders who helped you pronounce words in the native way so that you were accurate and as close as possible to the original. It also helped develop a keen ear for the delicate inflections or phonetic peculiarities.  

We also had to call up the different embassies to get the correct pronunciation of the foreign names and this was even more exciting. I made a lot of friends doing this and I enjoyed compiling the new words into the dictionary. Besides it felt good to be able to say the names of people and places accurately, sometimes so accurate that people mistook you to be from the same region. 

The emphasis of being as close to the native pronunciation as possible was a lesson I learnt very early and has stayed with me for ever. Mr Jhaveri also had many comments to make about commonly used words that were grossly mispronounced by many of us and the repeated correction by him made us aware of our language, diction, and delivery. I cannot thank him enough for all the personal care and attention he gave to me.

Another vital lesson I learnt being a newsreader with AIR was being punctual. Since the newsroom is open round the clock and newsreaders were to be present throughout, duties were divided among 30 or 40 of us who were casual workers along with the 10 regular employees. The good ones were understandably used for the main bulletins, while the others did the rest of the shifts. Since many of the casual newsreaders were employed elsewhere during the day, a substantial number of them would opt for the graveyard shift, which was the most physically challenging being from 12 to 6 in the morning.

Even though the bulletins in this shift were largely broadcast overseas, they were still monitored and often the newsreader was summoned if any mistake had been committed. So there was no room for slackness and each of us had to be punctual so that no one did a double duty or got relieved late.

Learning to mark copy and also to rephrase lines written by editors under pressure was a whole new ball game. Especially when you read the main bulletins.  Its necessary to have a certain style and know whether you can fit in all the news items within the stipulated time since it is LIVE and not a recording, you also have to be able to do this silently and not make any noise in the studio. The team of Editor and Newreader and Assistant Editor, has to all, to be in tandem. The ability to be able to modulate your voice without anyone guessing the pandemonium going on inside, is another quality you have to learn and emulate. There cannot be a better learning ground than Radio for this. I am eternally grateful for getting the opportunity to do this.