Image Courtesy: The Free Press Journal
The day Balasaheb Thackeray died, you could reach out and touch the electric tension in the newsroom. There were rumours as to how the man had died a few days earlier than Saturday. The death, they said, was hushed up in order to prevent the town from coming to a standstill.
What was the situation like? It wasn't a mass-grief that would have engulfed the city, mind you. Opera House didn't down shutters at 4 pm because Ambaniben's shopping spree had already helped sell their quota of diamonds for the weekend. It was terror that gripped all, that sent exodus to their living rooms cowering under the light of their TV screen, to us in the newsroom sharing a single pack of bhelpuri procured from that only hawker at Churchgate station brave enough to go about his daily business, in spite of the possibility of being at the receiving ends of the Sainiks' fists. "Grieve, motherfucker, grieve."
It was ridiculous. Being an English daily, our coverage was supposed to capture the collective hysteria than make a martyr out of the man. At the same time, one wasn't supposed to be largely critical. Fortunately though, after publishing the stock report of his funeral, my editor asked me to do an analytic piece on the Marathi press coverage:
Day 1:
For Old Times' Sake, Shiv Sainiks Throng Shiv-Tirtha
As published in The Free Press Journal on November 19, 2012.
At 6.10 pm, Shivaji Park witnessed pin-drop silence just as the sound of bugles rung into the air. A piercing voice of a commander followed and gunshots tore in, saluting the Maratha whose pyre lay in front of them. The somberness was palpable throughout the duration of the three gunshots. A passionate cry reverberated in the next moment - 'Parat ya, parat ya, Balasaheb parat ya' (Come back Balasaheb). Came 6.15 and Balasaheb Thackeray's body made headway into the skies.
The cremation of Balasaheb Thackeray was sound in its poetic flavour. With the arrangements made on a dais in front of the Shivaji statue to the Jagjit Singh's prayer ‘Hey Ram’ being played on loop since afternoon, there was a conscious symbolic imprint. As the flames clouded Balasaheb's pyre, Padmashree singer Padmaja Joglekar rendered Samartha Ramdas' poem 'Nischayacha Mahameru', written to commemorate the exploits of Shivaji.
People had already started assembling at the ground where Shiv Sena had launched itself in 1966 from as early as 5 am. There were hundreds of policemen in and around the venue. Barricades were erected at several spots to regulate the crowd that poured in the tune of thousands. With public transport conspicuous by its absence, the people took to streets as human largesse from every road gushed towards Shivaji Park. Mobile toilets and water tankers punctuated the junctions en route.
As people drove in hordes, several volunteer groups contrived to ensure a steady supply of food and water.
"We have been distributing tea, vada pav and water to the people since 11.30 am," said Vishal Shingade, a resident of Popatlal chawl at Dadar. Vishal, along with several locals, was involved in distributing the snacks free of cost.
The venue saw a shamiana built at the centre, in front of which was Balasaheb's pyre. There were several screens set up along the perimeter that showed the live feed from the stage. The high-profile guests started trickling in with Nitin Gadkari arriving at the venue at 4.30 pm. He was followed by BJP stalwarts like L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitely. Over time, several personalities from the Marathi television and cinema industry joined in.
The crowd thickened and people took to trees and neighbouring building terraces to get a dekko. There were life-size figures of Thackeray and bursts of saffron punctuating the air. As the ceremony drew to a close, even the policemen allowed the crowd's emotions to take over and several could be seen standing on the barricades.
"While there was a deluge of humanity all over the place, the crowd didn't get unruly. It was a peaceful and well-organized affair," said Isha Bopardikar, a resident of Shivaji Park.
Day 2:
Image Courtesy: Economic Times
For Saamna, Balasaheb is a demigod
As published in The Free Press Journal on November 20, 2012.
That the Marathi press would unanimously lavish praise on Balasaheb was a given. However, most of the newspapers, chose to go a step further and canonize the politician. Equating him to a divine entity, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ projected the demise of the party-founder by hailing it as an event of worldwide significance.
With a front-page headline reading, ‘The entire world witnessed Sena leader’s power and the Sainiks’ devotion’, it dedicated the entire issue with reportage related only to Thackeray’s death and the resultant grief.
“God had sent the Shiv Sena leader for the welfare of the world… Perhaps, the Gods found themselves in a crisis that he (Thackeray) was recalled to the heavens. Perhaps, Kansa and Raavana (demons in Hindu mythology) detained the Gods, making them cry out ‘Save us!’” read the paper on its third page.
While most of the newspapers had less than substantial coverage about the civic chaos, Saamna completely ignored highlighting the negative aspects. Among reports by other publications of people roaming on the streets in search of basic commodities, crowding around shops and waiting for it to open, Saamna reported people crowding near newspaper stands. “As the rest of the city was deserted, people were seen scouting for Saamna.”
Another daily ‘Lokmat’ had a philosophical take on the Sena chief. ‘In the end, it is fate that triumphs. Whether or not one was aligned to his views or openly acknowledged it, Balasaheb was respected throughout the state. The security that people felt has now permanently disappeared into the clutches of history,” read the editorial.
Maharashtra Times, the office of which was ransacked in January for carrying a story that portrayed the party in a bad light, played safe and dedicated their entire coverage to offer obeisance to the Sena chief. The front page carried a full-length aerial view of the hearse surrounded by the crowd with the caption ‘May he be immortal!’ The editorial, however, steered clear of much adulation and focused on the overview of the funeral and profiling the leader. It called Thackeray a “brilliant orator and politician” who had an “unpredictable style of politics”.
It was only the leading daily Loksatta that carried a critical piece of the entire ceremony and the arrangements. While devoting a significant coverage to the pervading melancholy, the editorial took a discerning view on the irresponsible comments made by the Sainiks.
“As unfortunate the death of Balasaheb is, even more is the Sena leaders’ behavior. In the days leading up to Saturday, every time a leader exited Matoshree, he spoke as per his fancy. As a result, the byte-hungry broadcast media had a field day,” it said.
The editorial went on further to criticise the lack of coordination at such a sensitive time. “The same happened when Uddhav Thackeray was admitted for angioplasty. Visiting Sena leaders were seen quoting that the angioplasty was successful, thus revealing their ignorance. Saying that an angioplasty was successful is as stupid as saying an X ray was successful.”
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