Every person has different hobbies in life. Some like to take pictures, some like to travel, read books, some like to write or draw. My hobby is reading newspapers or writing news.
I was born in the city. When I was young, Dhaka was on the path of development. The number of buildings in the current brick-and-stone city was relatively few. There was a small maktab house next to our house, where newspapers would come. When they did, they wouldn’t come right there, but the newspaper seller would leave them in the market. In the morning, I would go from home to the market to school, and from there I would remember to bring the newspaper.
I would read the newspaper once before returning home from school to play. I liked the story part more than the daily events.
Then when I went to college, I could read newspapers in the library. On the way back from college, I had to wait for the bus. During this time, I would read two or three pages of the newspaper from a pharmacy at the intersection, a little away from the college. Sometimes I would go to a tea shop for two or three days and read newspapers. When I read a newspaper, I felt like I knew a lot.
I felt the need to have newspapers at our house. Since I was a student, I reached an agreement with a druggist. In a month, he had two kilograms of paper. He would sell it for 30 taka. When I finished reading his newspapers, I would buy them at night, meaning I would read newspapers nine times a day. At the end of the month, I would give him 60 taka. That way, my newspapers would be bought for two taka a day. Now I feel happy when I think about this madness of reading newspapers.
Then, when I got the opportunity to get admitted to the university, I no longer had to struggle with reading newspapers. I could read newspapers in seminars while going to classes, in the library. The central library had all the local and national newspapers. There was a newspaper room in the hostel. After that, I got the opportunity to work in the media for a few days, so I had to read newspapers to stay updated. I liked the articles in The Daily Star, Daily Sun, Prothom Alo, Ittefaq, and Sangbad newspapers quite a lot. It would be a bit wrong to say that I only like it, if I went to the hostel reading room and saw a reader, he would have my favorite magazine in his hand.
Due to my stay in Lalmatia, I also went to the Central Library of Dhaka University for a few days to read. The picture was the same there too. There were five to six tables with magazines on them. Everyone would look askance to see when the tables of Daily Star, Prothom Alo, Sangbad or Ittefaq were empty. There was rarely a chance to read my favorite magazine without reading serials. However, the feeling of reading a magazine at the Central Library of Dhaka University was a little different than reading a magazine at a tea shop or at home.
Several magazines write success stories of marginal entrepreneurs, stories of how other jobs outside of traditional professions can lead to a respectable career.
Since I am a student of the Journalism Department, I have had opportunities to work in various media outlets since 2020 and even though the news I wrote was published, I used to think, when will I write in the magazine on my favorite list? Finally, on June 6, 2021, a news article I wrote titled ‘Puppet Village’ was published in The Daily Star. After that, many well-wishers called and congratulated me. I was also very excited. My news was in the paper that I used to go crazy to read.
When I read the editorial page of each day’s newspaper, I feel like I am sitting in front of poets, writers, talented journalists, politicians, and professors and listening to their opinions. It is not possible for a person to go to so many talented people at once and listen to their opinions, which is possible by reading a newspaper. The reason for my special love for newspapers is that newspapers write about problems and possibilities. After the news comes to the media, the authorities take the initiative to solve that problem and the solution is also found. I think this success belongs to the media, journalists, or editors, as well as to the readers or viewers.
Sometimes I would think of something new centered on newspapers. From that line of thinking, with the joint efforts of a few of us, I started working on a newspaper called ‘Epic Verse Journal’. I am undergoing special training for that. It is difficult to find time here due to busy work. Still, we read other newspapers. If there is any doubt about any news, many people ask now. I hope that EPIC Verse Journal will maintain the trust of the readers through its work.
At one time, it was thought that the importance of newspapers would decrease due to the spread of electronic media. But that fear did not prove to be true. With the change of era, there has been innovation in the subject matter and presentation style of newspapers. There has been various variations. Our country is no exception. The job of newspapers is to fill the information gap of people. However, most of our educated people’s idea about newspapers or the world of journalism would be almost zero. A magazine of international standard can also be started from a country like Bangladesh.
Rakibul Islam Rafi, journalist and former student, Department of Journalism, Independent University Bangladesh (IUB).