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Wave of enlightenment: Khabar Lahariya
Manjari Mishra, TNN, Mar 8, 2010, 04.10am IST
LUCKNOW: Like any average homemaker in Chitrakoot, she can cook,
clean, wash and sew. She can also cycle through a 15 km stretch of
thick forest to meet victims of group clash, share pleasantries with
friendly neighbourhood dacoits, village pradhan or the police chief..
all in a day's work. Meet Meera Jatav, the 37-year-old
editor-in-chief, lay out artist, marketing manager and a door to door
hawker of Khabar Lahariya -- the first newspaper in Bundelkhand
brought out in the local dialect.
The eight-page paper with editions from Chitrakoot and Banda, priced
at Rs 2, has been able to carve out a niche for itself over the past
eight years of its launch by Meera and her colleagues -- a band of
Dalit and Muslim women. And now, they are getting ready with an
ambitious expansion plan. "In the first phase, we propose to launch
editions from UP districts beginning with Kaushambi and also plan to
take it to a few districts in Bihar," says Meera. With her senior
colleague Shanti assisting her in the venture, it should not be much
of a problem, she is sure.
The duo stepped into the profession in 2002 as apprentices, with staff
strength of eight which has now gone up to 21. Each woman has come up
hard way. For instance, like Meera, Shanti also learnt to read and
write quite late. But now, this grandmother has turned quite tech
savvy and handles emails and internet, Meera points out.
"I was never sent to the school and married off at the age of 12,"
Meera recounts. She had to beg, plead and cajole her in-laws to allow
her to attend a women's literacy centre. After eight months training,
she enrolled in class sixth, and gradually went on to complete her
graduation. There were short intervals like pregnancy and child birth.
But her husband, she says, has proved to be extremely supporting.
Shanti has a near similar tale to narrate.
But all the trial and tribulation has been worth it, she says with
satisfaction, adding, "we are known to everyone and from local baddie
to the most dreaded bandit, no one takes us lightly. In fact, Meera
claims to know quite a few of "decent dacoits". "I have readers in the
class.. They buy my newspapers and even discuss issues at times, you
see not all dacoits are bad. Some are actually concerned about public
good. And yes, they also respect people who are honestly doing their
job," she declares.
With a UNESCO award for promoting literacy and awareness last year
under their belt, and a recent fellowship from the Centre for Social
Development, even the advertisements, she says, have started coming
their way despite their strict policy. "We do not, as a rule, take any
ad promoting or selling firearms," Shanti says. This could mean quite
a dent to the coffers in the belt known only for `bandook' (gun) and
bandits, "but then rules are rules."
What they lose out in ads is more than covered by their ingenuous
marketing skills. In the morning, the women reporters can be seen
stalking the markets, village fairs, offices and even train
compartments, with their bundles. They coax, banter, wheedle and even
crack jokes and going by the spiralling figures of circulation, the
marketing strategy is paying handsome dividends.
The sale has gone up to 5,000 weekly prints in 300 villages, though
readership figures are well over 20,000 (an in-house survey revealed
with one copy being scanned by at least five persons).
The job has its own highs, claims Meera. Their expose on the scams and
scandals in the district, tehsil or block levels have made the
Lahariya team a force to reckon with. "The criminals and mafia dislike
yet fear us... the pen in our hands is more potent than their `aslah'
(weapons), after all `to aakhir mein jeet hamari hi hoti hai (in the
end, it's we who win)," she says with a laugh. Fearless journalism,
typical Bundela style.
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