Changing friends in changing times

This is my first attempt at poetry. The subject is something that has disappointed me for years now...so much so that I've stopped subscribing to or buying newspapers. The two times that I did buy one in the last couple of months added to my feeling that a newspaper is no more what it used to be or what its supposed to be. So, here goes my comment on the state of the newspaper today.

I recall with nostalgia those jolly days from school.
When public speaking during the assembly was a rule.
Most of us would speak about places, dreams and the like.
But those were the last things I’d feed down the mike.

For I was the born activist, always eager to take a stand.
And what better source of news could be, than a newspaper in my hand.
It told me all about what went on in the world around me.
Maradona, the cold war, Pink Floyd & the PC.

My then best friend – the newspaper.


Years have passed since, and we’ve both evolved.
But my friend’s evolution has me appalled.
Its grown into a goliath, but one without a spine.
Sensationalism and commercialization are today’s newspaper’s lifeline.

Each newspaper is some bigwig’s minion.
They pass off opinion as news and propaganda as opinion.
Celebrity gossip & irrelevant perspectives are the order of the day.
The pits are the WAG pics of the Times & the bikini babes of Mid-day.

No more my friend – the newspaper.


On an optimistic note, that’s not the end of the world.
For from the curdles of despair is the cream of change churned.
And I’m proud to be a witness to this change taking place.
We’re on our way to glory with the internet at its base.

With independence as its centre of gravity, the net heralds a new dawn.
Where everyone can speak his mind like a king and not be anybody’s pawn.
Damn!! This thing has potential, but it might go the newspaper way.
Unless we act responsibly and handle it with care, as they say.

I implore upon you all to make the best use of my new friend.
Let’s make openness, inclusiveness and constant critical communication the new trend.
I hope to live to see the world as a better place.
And if we are to create a revolution, the internet is our ace.

My new friend – the internet.