At the start of a new year, our staff from the English, Hindu and Urdu editions look back and share their pick of The Wire’s video journalism in 2018.
1. Dheeraj Mishra, reporter, The Wire Hindi
Watch | I am the Greatest of All Urdu Poets
Many stories have been done on Asrar Jamayee, a brilliant Urdu poet who was once declared dead but is still very much alive, but Faiyaz Wajeeh’s video tells the old story in a brand new way. Hina Fathima’s filming and Yasmeen Rashidi’s voice-over add to the quality of the story-telling.
The video reveals the pain of a poet left helpless by an accident, and highlights how neither our society nor our government cared to help him. It raises an important question: Why does our nation forgets its artists and writers?
2. Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Senior Editor
Watch | The Original ‘Anti-Nationals’: Subramanian Swamy and Today’s Sangh
I liked Raghu Karnad’s video for two reasons: One, the quality of research and timely intervention in a high-decibel, lopsided debate. Especially for millennial audiences, the references to our contemporary history will help them formulate their own ideas on nationalism and the issues of our times.
Two, it’s rare that the audio-visual medium dives into such nuanced intellectual debates. Not only it did do complete justice to it, but Raghu’s animated, engaging presentation was icing on the cake.
3. Kabir Agarwal, agriculture and political economy
Watch | Representation of LGBTQ+ Culture in Urdu Literature
My pick is Yasmeen Rashidi’s fantastic video story on the representation of LGBTQ+ culture in Urdu literature. It lends a new perspective to the discourse around Section 377, and sheds light on the existence of homosexual relationships in a society considered ultra-conservative. It also showed us how vividly these relationships have been described in Urdu literature.
4. Pawanjot Kaur, Multimedia Producer
Watch | 360 Of The Week: Inside A Government Hospital In Delhi
This 360 video by Anoo Bhuyan uses an interactive multimedia tool to tell a powerful story. If you watch it on a head-mounted Google VR set, you will really understand how claustrophobic a government hospital in Delhi can get. Patients queue from 4 am in the morning, and a security guard is deployed inside the hospital to manage crowds. The 360 camera was put to its best use to tell a story like this one.
5. Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor
हम भी भारत, एपिसोड 33: 2 अप्रैल के भारत बंद के बाद हुई हिंसा पर मेरठ से ग्राउंड रिपोर्ट
This is my pick for two reasons: Arfa Khanum Sherwani is a great reporter when she is in the field, and this story – police violence against Dalits during the Bharat Bandh in Meerut – is a great glimpse into the ground reality of Uttar Pradesh.
6. Brijesh Singh, Editor, The Wire Hindi
Watch | The Farm Widow: Pieces of a Life Left Behind by a Farmer Suicide
Farmer suicides is an issue that is widely talked about, but the survival of the family after a farmer’s death is an issue less reported on. Farm widows rarely win the media’s attention, but this ground report by Kabir Agarwal and Moniza Hafizee captures their plight poignantly.
7. Yasmeen Rashidi, The Wire Urdu
जानिए | एलजीबीटीक्यू+ समुदाय का अब तक का संघर्ष और भविष्य की चुनौतियां
This video by Srishti Srivastava on LGBTQ+ rights should be a must-watch because talks about fundamental rights and how they are not often out of reach for people simply because of their identity. This is particularly important because despite getting legal recognition, LGBTQ+ people are not treated equally in our society.
8. Sidharth Bhatia, Founding Editor
Watch | Pakoda-Wallahs Respond to Modi’s Statement on Employment
The prime minister made a statement that even selling pakodas counts as a job. Well, how cushy or profitable is this ‘job’? The Wire spoke to actual pakoda-sellers on the cold streets of Delhi in January 2018 and they made it clear it was no job for their children.
9. Akhil Kumar
, labour
Watch | Gauri Lankesh’s Views on the Lingayat vs Veerashaiva Debate
This was the most hotly debated identity issue in the Karnataka elections, and I loved this video for its production quality: great graphics and a fluid script. The fact that it is based on an article by Gauri Lankesh for The Wire – her final piece in English before her assassination – made it all the more special.