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MUMBAI, CITY OF DREAMS: AN AUTHOR RECALLS HIS JOURNEY

MUMBAI, CITY OF DREAMS: AN AUTHOR RECALLS HIS JOURNEY

By P.T. Bopanna

I began my journalistic journey in Mumbai over four decades ago. I first went to Mumbai as a jobless youth.

Despite all the insecurities and inadequacies, the only thing I had in plenty was the passion to pursue my dream. I enrolled myself at Mumbai’s well-known institute Bhavan’s College of journalism for an evening course. After completing the one year post-graduate course, I headed home to Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka.

I joined The Hindu newspaper as their Mercara (now Madikeri) correspondent. There has been no looking back after that. In the course of my journalistic journey, I worked for a few national newspapers and an international news agency.

My work as a professional journalist has given me a lot of satisfaction. I also had the opportunity of teaching journalism for over six years. Sharing my professional experiences with students of journalism was the icing on the cake in my eventful career.

Besides being a journalist, I also tried my hand at writing books, mostly on Kodagu. I have written eleven books so far. I had a successful writing career. My book The Romance of Indian Coffee, won me the international Gourmand award.

Along with foray into writing books, I also entered the online space. I have promoted seven Coorg-centric websites. Six of my websites have now been merged with my flagship site www.coorgtourisminfo.com.  

Another important aspect of my professional life was my entry into the social media space. This gave me the opportunity for social activism. I anchored a major campaign to repair the road between Hunsur and Kodagu. This campaign will go down as one of the most successful campaigns in the initial years of social media in Karnataka.

With the intention of creating role models in Kodagu, I promoted the concept of ‘Coorg Person of the Year’ in 2005. Last year, I brought out a book Coorg Role Models, featuring the winners of the title.

Though I am still active on social media, I feel I have reached the end of my professional innings.

In the last five months (2020), I have been staying with my son Devaiah Bopanna, a Mumbai-based writer. I am happy to be back in the city of Mumbai where I started chasing my dream of becoming a journalist.

Photo: P.T. Bopanna, journalist and author.

Source: Round and About with P.T. Bopanna, Rolling Stone Publications, 2022.

Paperback copy of the book is available on Flipkart:

https://www.flipkart.com/round-p-t-bopanna/p/itm058ca8fbc3055