I, WHO TOLD YOUR STORY

Ever since my evolution more than three centuries ago, I have been the cynosure of human eyes. I was born in Europe in 1609 as a printed newspaper, but it was in India that I truly came into my own .In 1780, India witnessed the birth of its first newspaper, the Bengal Gazette, published from Calcutta, then the capital of British India.Little did anyone imagine that this modest beginning would herald an enduring relationship between Indians and the printed word.My arrival was received with great aplomb. I was welcomed into homes, discussed over tea and sometimes even fought over! I was, quite frankly, on cloud nine. I felt like a king because, for a long time, I had very few contenders. My first two centuries were my glorious prime. I entered households with increasing confidence and soon became almost a family member.I have had the privilege of witnessing history from the front row. World Wars, the Indian freedom movement, the advent of nuclear warfare, political upheavals, scientific discoveries, human triumphs and follies , and I have faithfully carried them all. I reported the rise of satellites, space missions and technological marvels, while also exposing human ambition, power struggles and the occasional megalomaniac.During India’s freedom struggle, newspapers became powerful vehicles for nationalist thought. Publications such as Amrita Bazar Patrika, The Hindu and Hindustan Times carried the voices, aspirations and struggles of a nation yearning for freedom. On 15 August 1947, I witnessed history being made. Newspapers across the country brought their readers the momentous news of Independence, along with inspiring messages from national leaders and photographs that captured the emotions of a newly liberated nation. I felt immensely proud to have played my small part in recording the birth of a free India.The radio was there too by then but we were friends complementing each other.Ah, those were the days!Every morning I was eagerly awaited. A newspaper and a cup of tea were inseparable companions. In many homes, the morning ritual began with someone solemnly declaring, “Where is the paper?” as though the fate of the nation depended upon locating me!I enjoyed those first thirty minutes enormously. Some merely scanned my headlines; others turned straight to the sports or entertainment pages. The serious-minded explored my editorials and thought-provoking, spiritually awakening articles. I was popular with crossword enthusiasts , Sudoku lovers , while others searched for recipes, film reviews, cartoons, weather forecasts and matrimonial advertisements. I was not merely a newspaper; I was an entire morning’s entertainment package.And then there was R. K. Laxman’s unforgettable 'The Common Man ' and ' You Said It' in The Times of India. His gentle witty satire often said more than a thousand words could.But every reign has its sunset.The massive boom of the television in the last quarter ofthe previous century gave me a staggering blow .Then the new millennium brought me a formidable rival : the mobile phone.What a tiny, smug little creature!It is astonishing that something so small can contain newspapers, television, cinema, music, shopping, banking, games, gossip and enough information to make one’s head spin. Worse still, it delivers breaking news while I am still peacefully sleeping on the printing press!I confess I sometimes feel jealous.I watch humans travelling to work, sitting in waiting rooms, walking on roads and even having meals while staring at that little screen. Their thumbs seem to have acquired a life of their own. Scroll, swipe, tap, repeat! They are perpetually connected to the world and, ironically,sometimes disconnected from the person sitting beside them.Many families have bid me farewell. Some children born in the digital age hardly know what I am. They cannot understand why their grandparents once waited eagerly for me every morning. Nor can I blame them. Children imitate what they see. When parents themselves haveabandoned me, how are the young expected to develop an affection for my rustling pages?Yet I refuse to be bitter. Change is inevitable, perhaps necessary, and must be accepted.There was a time when people carefully cut out articles from my pages and preserved them in notebooks. Decades later, those yellowing cuttings would be rediscovered with affection. I was news,entertainment,information and sometimes even a treasure chest of memories.My ageing readers still understand this. Their hands may tremble, their eyesight may weaken and their pace may slow, but many continue to hold me lovingly, page after page. For them, I am not merely paper and ink. I am a familiar companion, a link with another era.And perhaps that is why I refuse to retire.As Tennyson so beautifully wrote:“How dull it is to pause,To make an end,To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!”I may have aged, but I have no intention of becoming redundant just yet.Nevertheless , the arrogance of my youth has mellowed into gratitude. Instead of feeling threatened by every new invention, I now marvel at humaningenuity. If technology can make life easier, improve communication and open new horizons, why should I complain?My only plea is that progress should remain people-friendly, eco-friendly and, above all, humane.So here I am , older, wiser and reconciled , watching Gen Z, Gen Alpha, more specifically the AI native generation , and the generations yet unborn , inventthe unimaginable. Perhaps one day I shall become a collector’s item, a nostalgic relic of another age. Perhaps I shall survive in some new avatar.But until then, let me continue to rustle through your mornings.To my beloved human companions, I wish to repeat Browning 's timeless words :“Grow old along with me!The best is yet to be.”Let us therefore grow oldtogether with a cup of tea in one hand, a newspaper in the other and a mobile phone resting for some time somewhere nearby!So, dear humans, keep reading, keep thinking, keep discovering , and whenever you can, spare a little affection for an old friend who has been telling your story for more than three centuries.To coexist in harmony and bonhomie....that is all I wish for now !Disclaimer: Views expressed above are the author's own.