It was late 2003 and I, a recent migrant to the capital was wandering about in a mall, jobless and cash starved. Someone approached me and asked if I would like to contribute to a collective citizens’ effort towards free, fair and fearless journalism. Fresh out of J school, I couldn’t have said no. Operation Westend (and the aftermath) was still so fresh in my mind. I paid Rs. 100 (a big sum for me then) for a two month’s subscription. February 2004, my brother called me up to let me know that the first copy was delivered home. Two years hence, Tehelka tells us ‘What’s Right about India’ in a 68-page 2nd Anniversary Special. I didn’t renew the subscription, but didn’t stop reading. Now the vendor outside the office gives me my weekly copy.
I usually purchase three types of publications – the popular, the passionate and the obscure (the sets rarely overlap). I pay for the popular but seldom read; the obscure rests in some unnoticeable corner of my cluttered abode. Though Tehelka claims to be ‘India’s Fastest Growing Weekly,’ the reporting and the writing symbolise passion. But passion alone cannot keep the hearths burning. Do get the issue, its Rs. 10 only. If that’s not reason enough let me give you ten:
1. Megnad Desai
2. Vinod Mehta
3. JM Lyngdoh
4. Javed Akhtar
5. Tarun Tejpal
6. Jehangir Sabavala
7. Raghu Rai
8. Prabuddha Dasgupta
9. Khushwant Singh
10. Uma Bharati
(and lots more…)
must check this out.. 🙂
I tried reading Tehelka. Seriously, I tried.
well i had subscribed for tehelka in october 2003 when they had just announced plans to launch a paper.i had lot of expectations from this newspaper.after all it had almost managed to shake this institution called government out of its slumber.initially the paper seemed to deliver with some insightful and passionate articles and i loved it.but with time i felt it became a bit tooooo mundane for my liking.Barring a few articles i find it extremely boring and deepressing.Hence after much thinking i didnt renew my subscription this year.may be i will get the anniversary issue but i seriously feel that tejpal needs to do some serious thinking about the kind of articles his paper publishes.
Visit:http://worldnetdaily.com/images2/muhammed_cartoon_4.jpg
god…for a minute i was tempted to read Tehelka, and hten I read the comments and my spirit dipped!…but i’ll never know unless i read right….