Reading the newspaper first thing in the morning was a daily ritual in my family when I was growing up.
And therefore, picking up the fresh paper from the garden, where the delivery boy threw it at the crack of dawn, was of utmost importance; you see, because whoever surfaced first was entitled to the entire broadsheet. It was like ‘the winner takes it all’ kind of scenario.
I was never an early riser, so by the time I got my chance to read the paper, it had passed through several hands. The tea or coffee stains, however discreet, gave away the identity of the previous readers.
Still, on the rare occasion that I woke up before daybreak, I would grab the packed newspaper eagerly. It usually happened when I had to catch a morning flight at an unearthly hour, but if I got the opportunity, I would make full use of it.
There are very few things in the world that can compare to the utter joy of reading a crisp newspaper.
The crinkling sound that is made when you open it up, the soothing smell of the newsprint, the witty headlines urging you to read the content, the international and domestic news, the opinion pieces that make you ponder, the matrimonial columns that are hilarious, the sports section that congratulates a win or trashes a loss, the gardening, motoring and film reviews, the word jumble puzzle, the comic strip and the obituary page.
To read it from cover to cover uninterrupted, with no family member asking for the inside sheets to be handed to them simultaneously, is pure delight.
Whenever one travels to foreign countries, one also enjoys reading the newspapers that are published there. The format is usually presented differently by them, and interesting stories are offered from their domestic and nationalistic points of view. Sometimes, two or three newspapers printed in the same city, focus on identical news, but from a completely diverse perspective, which is fascinating.
Surprisingly, the youth of today does not read the newspapers. It appears as if they don’t have the time or the inclination to do so. They listen to bits of news on the television or read the headlines on their smartphones while commuting from one place to another, but that is about all.
It is no wonder that the future of the newspaper industry is in serious jeopardy. The circulations have dropped to such an extent that most of them are striving to survive on a skeletal staff.
However, the older generation read the broadsheet and also believed that whatever appeared in print was the gospel truth. My own mother force-fed me spoonsful of the disgusting fish liver oil because a newspaper report claimed that it was beneficial for both my eyesight and pimples.
And then one day she was shocked.
‘Cod liver oil is not good for the eyes after all’, she said in dismay, looking up from the paper she was reading.
‘Don’t believe everything you read, Mom’, I pacified her.
‘It’s written here, see?’ she showed me the newspaper.
‘Check the byline’ I teased.
‘Your name is printed on top. You wrote this?’ she was aghast.
‘It seems like’ I laughed.
‘But why? Your skin is clear, see’, she stressed.
‘Yes, but my eyesight is not, see’, I mimicked, removing my spectacles.
‘I will fix that too, wait’, she said reaching for the bottle of cod liver oil.
By Nickunj Malik
|| features@portugalresident.com
Nickunj Malik’s journalistic career began when she walked into the office of Khaleej Times newspaper in Dubai thirty-one years ago and got the job. Since then, her articles have appeared in various newspapers all over the world. She now resides in Portugal and is married to a banker who loves numbers more than words.
