IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY!

As journalists, it is often touted that reporters should be objective and fair. When covering hard news, reporters don’t convey their own feelings, biases or prejudices in their stories. But I believe that ‘It’s Okay to Not Be Okay”, said Barkha Dutt in the interactive session titled ‘Starting from Scratchtical Biography’ in the 7th edition of Talk Journalism 2022 held at Clarks Amer, Jaipur on Saturday.

During the seminar, Dutt shared her life experiences from her first live reporting to her newest adventure. She also threw to the light her post-traumatic days and how she has evolved into a stronger person by overcoming her panic attacks by acceptance and self-care. During the lecture, she said, “when I used to study at Columbia, that time I couldn’t cast vote in elections, which made me feel how people are disconnected. But when I saw a large number of polling officials, not adhering to social distancing norms, at an election material distribution centre counter, amid a countrywide spike in Covid-19 cases then I decided not to cover the single election as a journalist. That was my greatest revolution from crying over the election to chose not to cover them at all. Recovering from PTSD and reconstructing myself and that is why I have written this book.”

Dutt’s book, ‘To Hell and Back’, is based on her road trips during the first COVID-induced lockdown as she noticed a paradigm shift in the traditional meaning of humanity by exploring the deep-rooted inequalities across caste, class and gender in the heart of India. She conversed the importance of mental health with Sarika, Arnav and Divyanshi.