5

Dec

My Bookshelf

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A TESTIMONY OF TALENT

(‘My Life’s Byline -Alok Verm Publisher -Clever Fox Publishing Pages -Rs. 153)

The book by Alok Verma is a testimony to his talent in whatever he attempts. One of India’s most gifted journalists who left his indelible mark wherever he worked, Northern India Patrika, Zee News, Star India, AAJ Tak or as Founder and Mentor of Newzstreet Pvt Ltd, pioneering India’s first digital local media platform, his work has always been recognised for its innovation. Incidentally, He is also a National Award winner for online innovation.

The first thought that struck me after a quick reading of Alok Verma’s book is “How can a mainstream journalist who has spent four decades in the profession not reveal his political leanings at all, especially so in these times when every journalist worth his salt likes to show off his colours. Some do it to curry favour, while others refuse to fall in line unless the offer to change sides is too tempting.

There is a price to sell your soul to the Devil! But Alok Verma very adroitly side steps the booby traps.

And he does another ‘unthinkable’ in his book. Instead of making his career milestones shine out without taking any names, he acknowledges not only the contribution of his parents, wife and children (grandchildren included) but of the journalists that gave him a break, without ‘batting an eyelid’ so to say.

So even as he changes careers from the Print to the Electronic to Teaching to Digital, setting records everywhere, it’s refreshing to see names of people like R K Makker, Rajat Sharma, Arum Shourie and Prof Pradeep Mathur, some of whom this reviewer has had a chance to know personally.

Article at a Glance
Alok Verma’s book stands as a testament to his exceptional talent and innovation across four decades in journalism. Having worked with Northern India Patrika, Zee News, Star India, Aaj Tak, and later founding India’s first digital local media platform, Newzstreet, Verma has consistently pushed boundaries, earning national recognition for online innovation.
The most striking aspect of his memoir is his refusal to display any political bias—rare in today’s polarized media landscape. Equally refreshing is his humility; instead of glorifying his achievements, he openly acknowledges the contributions of his parents, family, and mentors like R.K. Makker, Rajat Sharma, Arun Shourie, and Prof. Pradeep Mathur.
His journey—from print to electronic to digital journalism—highlights his mastery, leadership, and integrity. The article concludes by emphasizing Verma’s belief in strong upbringing and gratitude, values that shaped his success and remain relevant for today’s youth.

Alok Verma calls his book “A Memoir of Love, Dreams and Journalism”, but not necessarily in that order.

In my view, the way he picked up the tools of his craft and mastered them, creating teams and systems that would sustain themselves without a particular anchor, shows that journalism came first for him.

But like an honest storyteller, he begins by acknowledging his roots- his parents (a lot of the General Z will revolt at the idea) to show that it’s not a shame to mention your parents in your bio-data.

Incidentally, I was having a conversation with Indu Rani Singh, the dynamic Executive Director of Prayas, today, where this upbringing topic came up.

Talking about pressure situations and mental health issues that are so common these days, she said that the young generation, which is always grumbling about too much work, does not realise that they are getting opportunities that were not available to the earlier generations.

“When children grow up into professionals, they should not forget what pains their parents have taken to bring them to that level. Unless they are groomed by parents or the institutions where they get a chance to work, they cannot make it big in life,” she says.

And perhaps no one would agree with this more than Alok Verma. (A veteran journalist with long experience of reporting, Amitabh Srivastava is Media Advisor and Project Director at Prayas, a well-known NGO).

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