The late Taher Shaikh (1941-2004) was one of the three senior-most reporters, along with Harry David and Y.V. Krishnamurthy, who personified Maharashtra Herald (MH), the local daily English newspaper, published in Pune during 1963-2003.
Taher passed away in Pune
on 21 May 2014. He leaves behind his wife Saeeda, daughter Farheen and son Suhail
and four grand-children. With my colleagues at MH and other papers in Pune, I
share in the grief of his family.
When I joined MH in 1983
as a sub-editor, Taher was at the peak of his reporting career. One of my
gurus, Taher held my hand as I learned editing.
In the piece that follows, Babu Kalyanpur, my colleague at the MH Desk, pays tribute to Taher, the story-teller.
In the piece that follows, Babu Kalyanpur, my colleague at the MH Desk, pays tribute to Taher, the story-teller.
*****
By Babu Kalyanpur
A great journalist and a
thorough gentleman has passed into the Blue Yonder, now sharing his vast
repertoire of tales with the gods.
Taher was endearing. No airs, despite his decades-old
experience as a newsman. Young or old, you could count on him, any time.
So many young cubs,
ensnared by the glamour and the glitter, were taught the grim realities of,
what they thought was, a romantic profession. Taher gave it straight as it
comes: a story here and an anecdote there. If you were quick on the draw you picked it
up.
No egos
involved; no “I am better than you” attitude. Taher understood that every
budding scribe needs help, not sniggering comments.
It wasn't just the young
hopefuls. He was also the man to go to, whenever there was a crisis. And there were many
during the old days. Nothing illustrates his attitude better than the Tale of
the Power Cut.
Back in the 1980s, a
major grid failure caused darkness in many parts of Maharashtra.
Pune city was almost in total darkness. Most newspapers gave up hope and
scrapped their editions. There was no option but for MH to follow suit.
This writer, on duty, was
still waiting, eternally hopeful. And Taher, as was his wont, was among the
last man standing at work. It was getting to nearly 1am. Time was running out.
Just a casual question,
about whether there was any hope at all, turned into action. A few phone calls
and Taher had information that there was only one newspaper, which had
electricity and was printing. There was no stopping after that. Taher called
the owners and within minutes we went there and got the issue out.
The point here is that
Taher knew everybody. Like a good journalist, he made his contacts and kept in
touch with them regularly. It could be an office clerk or a minister, Taher
knew them.
He was literally 'King'
when it came to the Pune Municipal Corporation. He had inside stories
which nobody would get.
That extended to court
cases too. He was thorough and accurate when reporting these. His easy style and
economy of wordage made the job easier for us, at the desk. Like good
journalists, he wrote simple and to the point.
MH was lucky to have such
top-shot pioneers – Harry David, Y.V. Krishnamurthy and Taher Shaikh – at the
same time: a combined experience of more than 100 years.
Taher was a great fan of
cricket and, in his middle-age, even played the game for MH. His only drawback
in later life was the “Yes, no, maybe” while running between the wickets, which
once earned the ire of this writer. But then …
Back on 15 March this
year, a get-together was arranged, for which Taher also came. It was heart-breaking
to hold this frail man by the hand and help him to the Food Court at Dorabjee's. Age and disease
had their say on this fit and sprightly man. However, his spirit, slightly
dimmed, was still there.
This was the last time
this writer saw him. And was honoured to give him a helping hand. Must put that
picture away now.
And remember Taher
Shaikh, smoking incessantly, holding court with tales of yore at the MH office!
*****
Please add your tribute
to Taher in the comments.
