Off Beat

Election reporting is an interesting area. One gets to see the real faces of candidates and their followers, besides coming across a bunch of funny experiences. Here's a collection of such experiences from the Citizen Matters team.It was about 6.30 in the evening. Around 40 people were going around shouting slogans for Shobha Karandlaje, in Rajaji Nagar. She would reach there in another half an hour.Except a handful of middle-aged men leading the pack, no other supporters seemed as loud or dramatic as supporters usually are. About half of them were women. The men seemed young and sophisticated, some with…

Election reporting is an interesting area. One gets to see the real faces of candidates and their followers, besides coming across a bunch of funny experiences. Here's a collection of such experiences from the Citizen Matters team.It was about 6.30 in the evening. Around 40 people were going around shouting slogans for Shobha Karandlaje, in Rajaji Nagar. She would reach there in another half an hour.Except a handful of middle-aged men leading the pack, no other supporters seemed as loud or dramatic as supporters usually are. About half of them were women. The men seemed young and sophisticated, some with…

Every year, the state AG (Accountant General) prepares audit reports on state government and some of its agencies. This year's reports were presented on February 14th in the Karnataka legislative assembly. The same evening, CAG held a press conference to distribute the reports.There are five reports this time. As usual, the reports are full of CAG's exposes, all leading to loss of hundreds of crores of rupees. The reports come in a study bag, overall weighing somewhere around 7-8 kgs. A bagfull of exposes, you might call it. The CAG's bag, full of exposes. Pic: Subramaniam Vincent. Except two smaller…

Every year, the state AG (Accountant General) prepares audit reports on state government and some of its agencies. This year's reports were presented on February 14th in the Karnataka legislative assembly. The same evening, CAG held a press conference to distribute the reports.There are five reports this time. As usual, the reports are full of CAG's exposes, all leading to loss of hundreds of crores of rupees. The reports come in a study bag, overall weighing somewhere around 7-8 kgs. A bagfull of exposes, you might call it. The CAG's bag, full of exposes. Pic: Subramaniam Vincent. Except two smaller…

"Sir, what sir, you are so well-dressed and handsome, and all you give me is 60 rupees for getting your job done?" At first I was amazed how fast BBMP granted my simple request of obtaining a permission, but little did it occur to me that it came with a price tag! Why? I had gone neatly dressed. Hence they concluded that I would be their lucky draw of the week. No exaggerations here.January 12th: It was a Thursday, and the time would have been between 12 and 1 pm. Visiting time at BBMP office for the general public is…

"Sir, what sir, you are so well-dressed and handsome, and all you give me is 60 rupees for getting your job done?" At first I was amazed how fast BBMP granted my simple request of obtaining a permission, but little did it occur to me that it came with a price tag! Why? I had gone neatly dressed. Hence they concluded that I would be their lucky draw of the week. No exaggerations here.January 12th: It was a Thursday, and the time would have been between 12 and 1 pm. Visiting time at BBMP office for the general public is…

When I first took up journalism, everyone i knew advised me against it, especially my family. "But the pay is not that great!," they tried to reason with me. They were partially correct. True, it can never match what the IT sector pays but how many sectors can? The pay is not as bad as some people imagine it to be. However, it was when I did my first internship in a reputed newspaper that I realised journalism could be a lucrative career depending on how flexible you are willing to be with your principles. While covering an art and…

When I first took up journalism, everyone i knew advised me against it, especially my family. "But the pay is not that great!," they tried to reason with me. They were partially correct. True, it can never match what the IT sector pays but how many sectors can? The pay is not as bad as some people imagine it to be. However, it was when I did my first internship in a reputed newspaper that I realised journalism could be a lucrative career depending on how flexible you are willing to be with your principles. While covering an art and…

On an overcast Sunday afternoon, I headed to Freedom Park to cover the anti corruption fast and protest over midnight raid by the UPA Government at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi.  As I parked my bike, the first thing in noticed was not the sea of people who had turned up for the protest but the several peanuts, ice cream and bhel puri vendors that had gathered that had set shop there to make a quick buck. If it weren’t for slogans of  “Jai Bharath Mata Ki” emanating from inside the shamiyana, I would think I was at the wrong place.…

On an overcast Sunday afternoon, I headed to Freedom Park to cover the anti corruption fast and protest over midnight raid by the UPA Government at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi.  As I parked my bike, the first thing in noticed was not the sea of people who had turned up for the protest but the several peanuts, ice cream and bhel puri vendors that had gathered that had set shop there to make a quick buck. If it weren’t for slogans of  “Jai Bharath Mata Ki” emanating from inside the shamiyana, I would think I was at the wrong place.…