Book Review: Braking News by Sunetra Choudhury

Review Braking News

Author: Sunetra Choudhury

Publisher: Hachette India

Rating: Four stars

Braking News.

‘I would not be an MC-BC (that’s mike carrier/bite collector’ in TV parlance and not just the Hindi gaali you’re thinking of!) I was free to gallivant about the country doing stories that I liked. If they gave me the show, it also meant that among the barrage of political reportage coming in across the country, my stories had less chances of getting lost.’

Introduction:

Today, Indian television occupies every tiny space like encroachers on pavements where some go to the rhetoric length while a few believe in their stories, not hesitating to make us discover the very small towns and villages, against whom we nurture biased prejudices.  NDTV’s Sunetra Choudhury’s Braking News is laden with intelligent humor which not only brings her electrifying persona alive but exudes an honest vulnerability as a journalist as Election Express steers 200 kilometers a day during the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

Braking News is an election special where she along with fellow journalist Naghma travels through the length and breadth of the country in NDTV’s iconic red bus.  At one shot, Braking News is a must read for aspiring journalists to unravel stories hidden in the vast Indian hinterland but should also be decoded in journalism schools or for experienced journalists in need for reinvention.

Narration:

Sunetra Choudhury has a rich command over the down-to-earth expressions and a rich vocabulary boasting of self-depreciation humor, but most importantly a storyteller with a unique flair which shows the journalism penchant for hunting human stories that a nation needs much beyond the daily diatribe to boost TRP. There are very few, among journalists and intellects who would confide in a book how stories are rejected, a make-up gone horribly wrong and publishing hate letters from viewers. We are introduced to the superstar journalist Naghma who remained unfazed by all the attention and characters like the camera people Mohammed and Nishant or the chain-smoker with a heart of gold, Ganga Singh-Ji driving them to explore various facets of India.

Aspirations are inherently vibrant among small-town folks when we see an 11-year-old Hirendra in Penchmohalla speaking fluent English and confident on his aspirations to become a doctor. One can only languish at a rotten system that kills dreams in the embryo. Isn’t it true for lakhs in small towns and villages? Contrast it with little Bhuri, a young girl in Shivgarh staring at Sunetra when village women urge the journalist to take her along. There is saying that we compromise with what we lack and perhaps, the motherless Bhuri was making do with and secretly wishing to run away to soar in the sky. Why do we obliterate the fact that we belong to a failed system?

Braking News is not a book restricted to journalism but the people in India and our prejudices when we see Naghma fascinated by temples and on account of being a Muslim visiting a Hindu place of worship shouldn’t grab an eyeball. But the conversation between the two ladies finds relevance when the danger of tolerance lurks in.  The fact that Naghma takes an active part in rituals and when she walked past a temple with a notice, ‘Only Hindus are allowed’ makes us hope for our secular future and the values which India has always stood for.

Of course, the honesty is searing in Braking News when the author tells the tale of local journalist  Narayan who marches ahead to unearth real issues in Andhra Pradesh on the poor and slum dwellers when roads are built overnight to impress upon foreign dignitaries. A far cry from the mainstream media weighing the impact of nuclear disarmament, geopolitics and India’s might over Pakistan and nicely ignoring the need for ‘roti, kapda aur makaan.’ We often get the impression that the poor don’t exist where real issues such as decent roads, eliminating potholes, drainage, better roads or nutrition finds no relevance.

Bihar is one state that hogs the limelight for more wrong reasons than right ones not just during the feverish election but when scandals rock the boat.  Of course, Lalu is a common thread but there is a life beyond the faces when we take pleasure in scorning on bhaiyas. The issues are real, be it electricity-deprived villages while a tower stood high or street smart children hailing from the state-funded Jharkhand schools mastering six languages but yet the one to open floodgates of opportunities, English, was not taught in schools.

NDTV journalist and author, Sunetra Choudhury.

It’s no secret that Laloo is a self-obsessed man where the author offers a first-hand account of the man many think to be a cartoon. It’s revealing to see the man fancying for the NDTV’s red bus to win over his people.

Of course, one revelation that perhaps would make many shudder are the college-going Haryanvi girls who cannot vote before they are married. Traditions can be strange and the balance heavily tilted against women where we are tempted to say, ‘No country or state for women.’  The episode of the Haryanvi girls should plague us since we are dealing with postgrads students who remain unaffected on their rights to freedom or democracy.  The future should worry us with this Sarpanch herd mentality where making a voting card is a seemingly lost cause.

Sexism remained an important part of the campaign where women are at receiving ends on the different treatment being meted out. It’s a sexist world with distinct power stroke strategy for both men and women. Actress turned politician Jaya Pradha paid a huge price when she was labeled for her dancing skills and ‘theatrics’ by Azam Khan rather than being questioned for her lack of political astuteness or policy strategy.

The light moments flits effortlessly in the book where Naghma is incensed as Sunetra innocently asked what’s ‘thandai’ the last glass relished on the trip or the most hilarious moment when the author asked a gun toting dude in public, ‘Are you from a daaku family?’ It seems innocent and fearful at the same time but the instances could have easily been part of a humorous rom-com book about a couple eloping. Love it.

What’s Not!

The Modi wave was a single thread missing in the 2009 election when L K Advani led the pack and perhaps Sunetra could have offered a glimpse on the former PM’s candidate prospect, no matter how bleak it appeared in real time. Sonia Gandhi is another intriguing character as the Congress’ high command and how I wanted an insight not just in her life but also Priyanka who bears streaks of grandmother, Indira Gandhi.

Final words:

‘Everyday I’d stood up to the journalistic test of being only as good as my last story. But after, today, would I be content to go back to my old beat, running between the Congress office and Parliament?’

It’s no easy task to pen a book like Braking News which complements humor, by-lanes, the real India we call Bharat which offers seamless insights into lives hidden by the smokescreen. Like Sunetra Choudhury says, Election Express was an arduous task yet it offers an experimental journey that would alter the journey of a journalist worth its salt. Braking News is the book you need to read if you want to understand the nuances of journalism in India and I say it as an outsider. The book makes you feel like a traveler in the Election Express.

You can check the book link on Amazon. 

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