subject: Lessons In Journalism [print this page] The book has as the cover picture, Pothan Joseph as a man with a protruding pot-belly, thin legs disproportionate to the figure and a cigarette in mouth! The cartoon says it all, that the man in real life had an unparallel sense of humour in him. The back cover reveals that The story of Pothan Joseph is the story of India's nationalist press and the historic role it played before today's apolitical corporate pop-press took over. Joseph's daily column "Over a Cup of Tea" was legendary.
The first chapter "A Brewer of Tea" opens with the quote -- It takes extraordinary range, versatility and scholarship to produce superior journalism. A thirst for knowledge helps. Legendary journalist Pothan Joseph's write-up 'Over a cup of Tea' was never signed under the British Press Act but it was read by the then viceroy, high posted British officials and eminent nationalists like Mahatma Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari. Everyone knew who had written it. Pothan Joseph's humour was wit without whips; it entertained, it enlightened but it never hurt.
Pothan Joseph wrote in a style that created an indelible mark on the readers mind and no one could do anything else but gulp down his humour with a smile. Joseph's humour was crisp; it was the art of making fun without adding malice to it and that made it real humour.
He once attempted to write a book called 'Adventures in Journalism but did not progress further because he believed that whatever he wrote was for the moment; 'all written on water.'
The chapter 'A brewer of Tea' also reveals some of the most amazing facts about Pothan Joseph. A man who could be stone drunk could also be bone dry. He had a strong inclination towards liquor but surprisingly was an avid health buff be it having raw lettuce leaves with lime and salt or popping citrus lozenges.
One secret behind his incompetent sense of humour was that he collected witticisms from the everyday remarks of the ordinary crowd. TJS George has intricately woven the story of Pothan Joseph in way that sketches a word picture in the readers' mind.
Pothan Joseph was the doyen of Indian journalism, with great scholarship, sense of humour, convictions and daring that many greedy quill-drivers and head-shaking news readers of today's media world lack.
No doubt that the chapter 'The brewer of Tea' would not fail to raise a storm in a tea cup with all its surprising facts and controversies. And if journalism is a cup of tea, Pothan Joseph is the perfect brewer!
