Akhbaar Aaya? (Is the newspaper here?)

Akhbaar Aaya? (Is the newspaper here?)

Do you like the rustle of long sheets of unwieldy printed paper in your hands with your morning cup of tea? Is the process of waking up incomplete for you without either tea/coffee and newspaper? In these times of internet do you still like to read the newspaper? And do you keep going back to pick up the paper and read, reread or check something throughout the day. Many of us still enjoy reading the dead tree version even though the news updates are available on smart phones and other hand-held devices and no doubt, both the paper and the phone, are equally portable. Some people do, also complain that they do not enjoy reading from a screen. Does Kindle give you the same feeling as reading a book you are holding in your hand?

A reminder of what newspapers offer after all.

Latest Updates and News – Most of us want to know what is happening in our city, state, country and the world. The newspaper brings them all together at one place, making it perhaps the easiest platform to get updated. Newspapers offer stories with relevant details in a continuous manner. Although, Internet has news forums or news communities which also offer the latest news all over the world, newspapers offer something different. One still has a tendency to disbelieve the news on the net as zillions of fake news masquerade as news. On the contrary, one has total faith unless one is reading a rag.

World News: The relevance of knowing what is happening in the world has been highlighted by the COVID pandemic. It has made all of us conscious of how sometimes national boundaries do not matter. Not only that, knowing how the economy, climate, foreign policies in other countries are, helps us decide on our own course. As the incidents unfold, so can we change our own opinions or decision. Never before has it held as true as now in case of businessmen, students, tourists and members of families living outside of the country, whose lives have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

National news There is no doubt that newspapers devote a few pages to what is happening in the country and if it has an effect on the region we live in.

The struggle for India’s freedom largely became successful because of communication and major credit for that goes to the newspapers. Some literate people read newspapers like Bengal Gazette, Samvad Kaumudi, Indian Mirror, Amrit Bazaar Patrika, Kesari, Bombay Chronicle themselves and then read it out to the people informing them of what was happening and what the national leaders were doing. This was informative and illuminative which brought everyone together and made it into a movement of the common people.

Local News

Newspapers have undoubtedly been of immense help in the present pandemic in informing about the regulations and rules applicable in the towns and cities they are printed from and around them. They also tell you of political or economic developments, natural calamity, reports about roads, bridges and business opportunities in your town, city and state which TV or internet generally do not do.

Weather Forecasts

Whether you believe them or not, newspapers regularly bring us the daily and weekly weather forecasts. They also tell us times for sunrise, sunset, and other relevant information like namaz timings during Ramadan. They warn changes in local weather which may prove to be helpful for farmers, fishermen, travellers.  Of course, newspaper cannot help if you want to know the instant temperature at your location.

 

Entertainment

Newspapers are not just dry news and events or opinions. Don’t you check the dates and place of a film release in a newspaper/the staging of your favourite actor’s play/a music festival? Even info on channels and airtimes of TV and cable programmes?

 

Sports 

There are some people who put the whole newspaper aside and go straight to the sports section. Thirsty for news and analysis on cricket, football, golf, wrestling, racing, they know where to strike. Which team won or lost, who is playing or not, and the reasons that go with that, the reports of all the excitement and action are all there in those two-three pages.

Comic Strips

For quick entertainment and a glance at life with humour or sarcasm, comic section is the best place. They must be among the oldest forms of entertainment in the printed medium.

Word and number games

Most of the newspapers offer word games, crossword puzzles, and horoscopes. They not only entrain you, but also challenge your mental faculties and enrich your vocabulary. Then of course, whether or not you trust astrology or argue about it, horoscopes continue to be one of the most read sections in a newspaper.

 

Discount sales

Scouting the large ads of local or national chain stores, furniture, sari and jewellery shops to check sales, rebates, concession is possible only in newspapers. They not only save some moolah but bring a lot of satisfaction in doing that.  

The Classifieds

Before the websites for job openings and matrimonial alliances came into being, newspapers were the only sources for classifieds. I remember some people buying the Sunday editions of a particular paper for that specific purpose. Even now for full-time, part time openings and opportunities, sale and purchase of second hand goods, real estate available locally, newspapers continue to be the best option.

Advertisements

For local businesses, newspapers are one of the best media in which to advertise. Television commercials give wide exposure but they are costly. It is expensive to get them made and to air them which might not work for the economy of every business. A small ad in a newspaper is comparatively more affordable and the business can send its message across to its target audience. 

Supplements

Not to forget the four to eight page supplements that the newspapers bring out daily (in Covid-free times). They are specialized sections and afford a large variety of news on films, employment, advertisements, students, tourism etc.  Who doesn’t keep aside a time to read the Sunday supplements with their treasure of book and film reviews, literary and sport features, cooking, food or health-related topics? 

Why do people like reading this buffet of information for the mind?

Intellectually enriching It is a joy to read clean, well-written language which goes above news and recreation. As students it was a great achievement if you found errors in grammar or misspelt words in your newspaper. Regular reading of good newspaper everyday enriches your vocabulary and expression.  Children who learn to read newspapers also learn to read books and other things. And nobody can doubt the fact that a reading person is more intelligent than a non-reader anyway.

Pastime

While most of the people nowadays play video games or netsurf, some other choose to read the newspaper to pass their time without disturbing others. People have been reading newspapers in all countries and in all languages for years, and this habit is on the border of addiction for them like their morning cuppa. Their day begins with the comfortable feel of holding the paper.

Avoid eye contact

Haven’t we all faced the situation where somebody is holding the newspaper pretending to read it to hide his/her face or look busy or ignore the other’s presence?

Communication

Happy, sad, cheerful, depressing, cruel, inspiring, tragic, comic, sad, whatever a newsitem is, it might be a topic of interest and conversation with someone. Sometimes a news item is the point of striking a conversation with strangers in public transport.

Critical Thinking Skills

Readers believe that newspapers offer insights into issues and situations which can help them form opinions, especially on such topics as they do not know the background or full details about.  They generally present balanced views or both sides of the story so the each reader can come to his/her own conclusion.

 

As opposed to most of the cacophonous and even sometimes hostile debates on television by clearly biased or uninformed ‘experts’, newspaper columns  provide a clear view on the issue by experts. Reading that the reader can form his own judgment whether he agrees with it or not. It is a good way of engaging your mental abilities. A good mental exercise, it is printed daily and is available right at your doorstep.

You get a whole bunch of pages. But they are divided in sections. You have the choice to skip the gory news, steer clear of the issues you do not care about, skim through headlines and go straight to the pages you want to read. You can separate the page and carry it, cut out the relevant portion, take a photo or keep the physical copy, mark it, underline it or highlight it.

Not a bad addiction

We all know of someone or the other even today who reads nothing but the newspaper. Reading a newspaper is such a habit, or should I say, addiction for some that they do not like it when it does not come on a holiday when they have more time to read it too. But we know this is not a destructive bad habit at all. In fact this addiction is a lot cheaper than several others. 

Not just the harbinger of news

Not to forget that news can be stale but not the newspapers. Even when old, these Rs five sheets of blackened paper are useful. Old newspapers are resold in most South Asian countries to be made into cardboard, packing fruit, glass. They are used by children for making many crafts like flowers, paper bags and papier mache works. And who hasn’t used it as a plate to eat puris/samosa/jhal muri, tray to sift dal/peel vegetables, wrap things or as a fly-swatter, duster and glass pane cleaner some time or the other? Dare you do any such thing with your smart phone?

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