I grew up with the distinct smell of daily newspapers . Dailies bring back buckets full of pleasant memories. There was the early morning wait for the hawker to throw the paper with immaculate aim landing right on your balcony on the right floor. The hawkers looked so confident and completely dedicated belonging mostly to Bihar and East UP.  Slight delay in the delivery would be so frustrating as if one was delayed on a ‘date’ . It would be so disappointing on days when newspaper offices would be closed. On national holidays there were no deliveries. It would then invariably be a dull and colourless day.

The smell of the newspaper and its bold headlines those days would be so welcoming and refreshing. They would, unlike in the present day, be without unnecessary advertisements and flyers offering concessional cuisine and host of ‘home delivery’ stuff. These additional and superfluous pages are also largely responsible for the newspapers losing their old charm. Presently, the extra sheets and supplements are unwieldy and loosely arranged making reading less interesting .

Belonging to the old school of thought and a person of vintage , I miss newspapers of yesteryears . Reading them with a cup of hot beverage had its own charm. Between father and son, the sheets would be divided to ensure that both were able to read simultaneously to adequately appropriate the ‘paper’.

Someone would jump to the comic strips, some to the crossword, some to obituaries to see if any acquaintance had ceased to exist . Matrimonial column, birthday forecasts and cartoons on the front page by eminent cartoonists like RK Laxman, Sudhir Dar, Rajinder Puri, Abu Abraham et al were attractions par excellence. Avid newspaper readers would cram each item as if they were learning lessons by heart. And in many homes, the news would ensure animated discussions on politics and sports. 

In certain newspapers, the editorials and Op-Ed articles were duly recommended for Civil Service aspirants. Such was their content and  worth. Also, such substantial and meaningful write-ups would often reflect public opinion and help shape many policies of the State. There was consistent and diverse coverage including on international happenings and news that was reported ‘ hundred years ago’. One was abreast with all the news and views.

Digital formatted newspapers and online portals have proliferated affecting the interest in printed newspapers. The mere feel of seeing regular newspapers and turning their pages with patience and eagerness had a sweet touch and class. 
Technology and digitalisation are considered signs of a progressive society, so perhaps the online news portals are rationed with "two minute reads" or " three minute reads". Such signs are stifling for an old man who grew up with the newspapers of the 1950s and the 60s.

My family and I still subscribe to dailies and are unable to reconcile to the radical change of new formats which are flooded with sensation and provocations albeit political and Bollywood news causing bitterness and acrimony. Sadly, the old ethic followed by the newspaper culture of exercising restraint to spare the aged and defenceless is conspicuously absent. Scathing attacks to sensationalise news is becoming more a routine than exception.