This blogger feared the worst when Vinod Mehta didn’t post another column after the 8th of Dec 2014 on Outlook, the legendary “Delhi Diary”. On the same page dated 23rd Feb it was Krishna Prasad, Outlook’s Editor-in-Chief, who wrote and it was a sign of what to expect. Vinod Mehta wasn’t going to be around anymore.
Yesterday he passed away leaving behind his wife and their pet canine companion the humorously named “Editor”, who for years was written about on the column. The obits since then in various media outlets have all unanimously praised Vinod Mehta. Even the PM had put out a condolence message on Twitter, despite the Editor not being one of those cheerleaders of the current establishment, nor the previous.
Vinod Mehta was one of those rare editors who didn’t start their careers as beat-reporters in journalism. Right from his first job he’s been an editor all the way from Debonair to Outlook. Until Outlook he was known for being inventive but not for being commercially successful.
I first found an issue of Outlook in 1995 in my friend’s house. His bank manager Dad, a voracious reader, was a subscriber of the magazine. I instantly took liking to it’s style and anti-establishment stance. Over the years that has evolved into being a fan of the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, who also wrote regularly the column titled “Delhi Diary” and many a times those 800 words about a pressing subject of that time.
Outlook was also where I discovered Arundhati Roy and Ramachandra Guha. The former always got all the space her beautiful prose in the long form needed. From the latter’s articles I also spilled over to reading his books, except the one’s on cricket. Vinod Mehta wrote all his articles on paper, he took to a computer only in 2013.
Vinod Mehta was a rare journalist who never failed to talk about the rot in his profession. NDTV never invited him after Outlook published the transcript of the Radia tapes in 2010 which was critical of Barkha Dutt’s role in the political quagmire during the formation of UPA2. A big corporate house stopped giving out advertisements and I suspect that was a reason Vinod Mehta was shunted upwards and named “Editorial Director”. He was also an avid advocate of self-regulation in journalism, this hasn’t yet taken off in our country.
Vinod Mehta was also know for his liberal views and was stridently secular. He was friends with all which a lot of his readers in the last 5 years failed to appreciate some even calling him an apologetic of the Gandhi family. He was also someone who could take jokes and brickbats about himself. A cursory reading of the “letters to the editor” column would show you how much he enjoyed publishing the criticism of his readers.
Vinod Mehta was able to run Outlook independently because he also was able to make it commercially viable and profitable for his owners. When he wrote about his long lost abandoned daughter from a relationship as a student in England, one could feel that yearning of a father. May the old fellow, who liked his drink, his stray dog and many such strays, find peace where ever he is today.
