Release of The Odyssey of a Journalist by the Late NVR Swami
Venkat Raman
Auckland, December 17, 2024
Indian Newslink took pride in announcing the release of ‘The Odyssey of a Journalist’, a memoir by the late Nyayapati Vira Raghava Swami (NVR Swami) at the 25th Anniversary Celebrations of the publication held at the 15th Annual Indian Newslink Business Awards on November 25, 2024 at Pullman Hotel in Auckland CBD.
Back in 1966, when I was on the threshold of my career, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, then President of India told me that the best trait of a journalist is to seek and report the truth.
It was about the same time that my dear friend Nyayapati Vira Raghava Swami, affectionately addressed as NVR Swami, was shaping up as a Reporter par excellence at the Press Trust of India (PTI). We lived several time zones apart (he was in East Africa and I was in the Middle East) but we fostered a bond that glorified our friendship for 58 years.
We had occasions to meet at major international conferences and tours of duty in India and other countries but it was a stroke of luck when he moved to New Zealand in 2001 after a tumultuous experience that his elder son Vijay Nyayapati encountered in Harare.
Vociferous Journalism
Mr Swami gave vent to an excellent expression of Henry Anatole Grunwald, whom we both regarded as an example of a fearless scribe.
“Journalism can never be silent,” wrote the Austria-born American Diplomat and Journalist, who later became the Editor-in-Chief of Time Magazine: “That is the greatest virtue and its greatest fault.” Journalism must speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.
Swami’s passing (in Hyderabad while on a visit to India on February 28, 2024) left a deep void and a loss so personal that reconciliation has thus far been elusive.
He pursued excellence in his long and impressive career as a journalist and therefore it was fitting that Indian Newslink, with the consent of his family, established a Community and a Business Award in his honour and memory, each to be presented at the Annual Community and Business Awards ceremonies, respectively in June and November every year.
When Mr Swami’s sons Vijay and Ravi Nyayapati expressed their desire to publish his book, ‘The Odyssey of an Indian Journalist,’ its release at the 15th Annual Indian Newslink Business Awards on November 25, 2024 in Auckland appeared appropriate. The invitation to write a Foreword was not only a great honour but also a veritable opportunity to pay tribute to a dear friend and probably the last of the finest journalists of my time.
In many ways, I could relate to ’The Odyssey of an Indian Journalist’ as my own.
“My dad was a self-made man who defied all odds to take up journalism which was never considered a bright or highly paid job,” he says, which was also my family’s experience.
The Classical School
The Book reflects the struggles of people like us who belong to the classic school of Journalism which taught us to pause, check, reflect, check again and then file a report. Being accurate was more important than being the first.
Occasionally, of course, mistakes occur. Mr Swami says (Page 32) that when he filed a report on September 12, 1971 stating that Music Director Shankar (of the famous music duo Shankar Jaikishan) had passed away, the PTI story was beginning to roll. His brother Pattabhi (also a journalist) alerted him saying that it was Jaikishan who had died and a correction was immediately issued.
There are several incidents that Mr Swami mentions in his Odyssey that jog our memory. The rebuff that he received in Madras (now Chennai) in 1965 when he spoke in Hindi (Page 23) and how he survived on a monthly salary of INR 125 (I was better off with INR 150). His references to Kamaraj (Chief Minister of the Madras State), Chakravarthy Rajagopalachari (my mentor), who was the first and last Governor-General of Independent India and the life and career of film stars Nargis and Meenakumari brought nostalgia.
Steadfast Preservation
Mr Swami demonstrated the finest attribute of a journalist: “Never succumb to pressure and always protect your source.” He narrates a story that he broke (Page 36) on China conducting a nuclear test in the Lor Nor region. The PTI story became global headlines and he was asked by ‘almost everyone’ to reveal the source of the information but he refused.
Later, it proved to be a world scoop.
“As my journalist father would always remind me that I should never, ever reveal the source, come what may. That is the humble prize of a journalist,” he said.
‘India and Indira,’ is one of the most brilliant chapters in the Book. It describes the politics and personality of Indira Gandhi, the nationalisation of 14 commercial banks on July 19, 1969, the declaration of a state of Emergency on June 25, 1975, her subsequent defeat in the general election, her return to power later and her death on October 31, 1984.
A tragic part of the Book relates to the Chapter titled, ‘Surviving an Air Crash (Pages 43 to 53) and how he rescued then Prime Minister Morarji Desai and others and reported about the accident. This incident saw Mr Swami as a hero and a journalist who performed his duty even in the face of adversity.
If you had thought that journalists of our age led a drab life sans excitement, you should wait until you reach Page 66 of the Book where Mr Swami writes about the film stars who he and his wife Sumati met during his tour of duty in Nairobi. Of particular interest would be Mumtaz, a glamour actress of the 1970s who married Mayur Madhvani, an East African Multimillionaire.
He enthusiastically filed a story after a 90-minute conversation.
“But all my efforts on a sizzling story seemed to have lost its way at the news desk in Delhi!”
There are several instances of Mr Swami’s tours with various Prime Ministers and Presidents and his personal association with leaders like Rajiv Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao (who answered his questions in handwritten notes), Robert Mugabe and Nelson Mandela but the most chilling part of his life relates to his son Vijay in Zimbabwe, the last country of his African tours of duty.
The turning point
He says on Page 62, “One fine morning when my wife and I were away in India, we got a call from Harare that our elder son escaped four gunmen who had hijacked his car. They wielded guns and robbed his wallet and wristwatch as he lay helpless on the road. He had the presence of mind to argue and buy time hopefully for a saviour. How he got out of a dire situation was purely a divine play. There was no other way to explain it. My wife and I wept and wept.”
Vijay had narrated this incident to me during a conversation on March 14, 2007.
Mr Swami and his family moved to New Zealand in October 2001.
As I read his concluding remarks, I was moved to tears.
“Until recently, I continued to write opinions for my dear friend Venkat Raman of Indian Newslink, who also remained with me in a scarce pool of journalists from the yesteryears. In our generation, all that matters is the truth and objective reporting. We seem not to know how to ride the wave of modern-day journalism where more prominence is on sensationalism and ratings. We pick ethics and objectivity,” he says.
Journalists like Mr Swami will always be remembered for their steadfast integrity and honesty.
His parting sentence is reflective of today’s reality: “This world of political journalism has somewhat changed now, but there are still those who are at risk.”
And this is my message: There is no farewell, Mr Swami. We will meet again very soon. Until then, please ensure that the seat next to you is vacant.
