CHENNAI: During a time when many small publications started newspapers just for the sake of it, S Muthiah vowed that Madras Musings (MM) would be a serious newspaper. The fortnightly newspaper, which was started in 1991 with a one-man army at the desk, has completed 25 years of publishing serious city journalism, with the bylines of over 100 freelancers inked on it over time.
Talking to City Express about the inception of MM, Muthiah, sitting on his messy yet strangely organised desk with stacks of papers and stationary, narrates an almost dramatic story that starts with his retirement in 1990. “Technically, I didn’t start the paper. The Lokavani Southern Printers wanted to start a publication and had already registered the name ‘Madras Musings’. During a printer’s conference in Kolkata, they asked me if I would be interested in heading the paper, as I was retiring soon. And I accepted.”
MM began as a freemailer and had a dedicated mailing list. The paper, which started with 500-600 copies quickly rose up to 25,000 copies, but after five years, it was almost shut down. “Not only were we competing with other mainstream newspapers, we weren’t getting advertisements to support us. Nevertheless, Lokavani decided to keep going, suffering huge losses every year. At the end of five years, they couldn’t lose any more money,” recalls Muthiah.
In the penultimate issue, he wrote in the paper that they were going to close down due to lack of adequate support. “One day, we got a call from the Sanmar Group, whose director was a dedicated reader. I told him the cost estimate and he encouraged 12 supporters of MM to contribute `1 lakh every year. They have been doing so till today,” he smiles. Though they have over 15 financial supporters now, Muthiah adds that they have never interfered with the running of the paper.
Muthiah brings out a pale red, bound book and places it in front of us. It’s the very first edition of the initial issues of MM. Turning the old fragile pages, one thing you cannot miss is the mast head and headline font — it hasn’t changed over the years. As for the articles, they varied from cartoons and sports pieces to business journalism and recipes too!
“In the early days, all articles were newsy but gradually we decided to bring in features,” adds Muthiah. “There were no city supplements in mainstream newspapers. MM was a pioneer in covering Madras. Plus, we were never criticised because our stories never criticised individuals; only organisations or other government bodies,” he points out.
Going through the early issues, one can find many familiar bylines here and there. Turns out, many well-known writers and journalists started their career with MM. Muthiah recalls one writer, Rajind N Christy, who was his favourite. He was the only one whom Muthiah could call to cover events. “He was a Sri Lankan refugee, who survived by completing degrees. He has 10 degrees to his name! He went back to Sri Lanka, and I miss him. I have been trying to contact him for months, but haven’t had any luck.” Now, he depends only on his freelancers for articles, pointing to a large red hardbound folder in the far corner of the room.
Another curious artefact that contributes to MM is Muthiah’s old, portable typewriter — an Olivetti. Muthiah does not own a cellphone or a computer. Still the master of one-finger typing, he shares a personal memory with us. “During my farewell in Colombo in 1980, I was gifted an Olivetti. I was using that till 2010 when my nieces gave me another Olivetti, which is exactly the same except that instead of a pound symbol it has a dollar sign. The other Olivetti is still with me, upstairs. Whenever I go abroad to my daughter’s place, I have to use her computer to write my story. What takes three hours to type on a typewriter, takes two days accompanied by my daughter’s screams!” he laughs.
Finally, we ask him the most important question that is mandatory while talking to a print journalist. Will print die? Firm as ever, Muthiah says, “Never. I have a great deal of faith in newspapers and I know they will last a long time. Even in the US, there are still smaller newspapers circulating because there will always be a dedicated crowd who love print.”