The Wonder Girl of Coorg
When I joined The Hindu as a trainee in 1952, its editorial department was as hierarchical as any government department. The first assignment of every newcomer was preparing the Today’s Engagements column of the next day’s City edition, drawing material from communications received from organizers of various public functions. The work would not take all of six hours. But since the trainee is not given any other work he would stretch it across the six-hour shift.
On being relieved from the Today’s Engagements drudgery, the trainee gets the opportunity to edit copy.
Initially he works at the Regional Desk, which handles reports from correspondents, who may be staffers or stringers, in the Southern states.
One day, when I was handling news from the then states of Mysore and Coorg, I received a report from the Mercara (now Madikeri) correspondent which did not appear credible to me.
It said Dhanalakshmi, an 18-year-old girl, was not taking food or drinking water for some time. She was, however, able to do all the work a girl of her age normally does.
I had just completed a year as Editorial Trainee and become a probationary Sub-Editor. Someone at that level was not supposed to exercise judgment independently. So I conveyed my reservations about the report to C.R. Krishnaswamy, the seniormost of the three News Editors.
“He is a good reporter,” said CRK. “The report must be correct. Give it.”
I was disappointed with his ruling. If we believe the report must we not publish it prominently with a photograph of the girl, I asked him.
In those days, howsoever big a story, The Hindu gave it only single-column headlines. The big stories of the day will earn three-deck headlines, all in one column.
The report of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination too was subjected to the rigid single-column rule. However, the next day it was decided at the highest level to make a one-time exception and carry the report of the funeral with a banner headline.
I didn’t think Dhanalakshmi qualified for anything more than a single-column heading under the established rule. That was why I suggested using her photograph to give prominence to the report.
CRK told me he would send a telegram to the correspondent asking for a photograph of the girl and we could use it with a follow-up story.
Bowing to the News Editor’s decision, I edited the copy, and the report appeared in the next day’s edition.
Several Indian and foreign newspapers picked up the story. Among them was The Times of London.
Dhanalakshmi quickly achieved fame worldwide.
The Mercara correspondent sent a photograph of her, and it was used it with a later report.
People started going to Mercara to see the Wonder Girl. Among them were a few dignitaries, like A.S.P. Aiyar, ICS, a judge of the Madras High Court. A report quoted him as saying Dhanalakshmi had acquired a secret known to saints of old.
In the Lok Sabha, a member raised the issue during question hour. If the secret of Dhanalakshmi’s ability to live without eating was found the nation could solve the problem of food scarcity, he said.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said he would ask the Bangalore Medical College to look into the matter.
Accordingly, Dhanalakshmi was admitted to the Medical College hospital for observation.
One night the hospital authorities reported they had caught Dhanalakshmi’s brother while trying to smuggle food items into her room.
That was the end of the story of the Wonder Girl of Coorg.
I must say here I hold C.R. Krishnaswamy in high esteem. He came to the office every morning with a copy of the day’s paper marking all the mistakes he had noticed. Going through the marked paper daily was a great learning experience. In the case of the Wonder Girl he erred because of his immense trust in the reporter.
On being relieved from the Today’s Engagements drudgery, the trainee gets the opportunity to edit copy.
Initially he works at the Regional Desk, which handles reports from correspondents, who may be staffers or stringers, in the Southern states.
One day, when I was handling news from the then states of Mysore and Coorg, I received a report from the Mercara (now Madikeri) correspondent which did not appear credible to me.
It said Dhanalakshmi, an 18-year-old girl, was not taking food or drinking water for some time. She was, however, able to do all the work a girl of her age normally does.
I had just completed a year as Editorial Trainee and become a probationary Sub-Editor. Someone at that level was not supposed to exercise judgment independently. So I conveyed my reservations about the report to C.R. Krishnaswamy, the seniormost of the three News Editors.
“He is a good reporter,” said CRK. “The report must be correct. Give it.”
I was disappointed with his ruling. If we believe the report must we not publish it prominently with a photograph of the girl, I asked him.
In those days, howsoever big a story, The Hindu gave it only single-column headlines. The big stories of the day will earn three-deck headlines, all in one column.
The report of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination too was subjected to the rigid single-column rule. However, the next day it was decided at the highest level to make a one-time exception and carry the report of the funeral with a banner headline.
I didn’t think Dhanalakshmi qualified for anything more than a single-column heading under the established rule. That was why I suggested using her photograph to give prominence to the report.
CRK told me he would send a telegram to the correspondent asking for a photograph of the girl and we could use it with a follow-up story.
Bowing to the News Editor’s decision, I edited the copy, and the report appeared in the next day’s edition.
Several Indian and foreign newspapers picked up the story. Among them was The Times of London.
Dhanalakshmi quickly achieved fame worldwide.
The Mercara correspondent sent a photograph of her, and it was used it with a later report.
People started going to Mercara to see the Wonder Girl. Among them were a few dignitaries, like A.S.P. Aiyar, ICS, a judge of the Madras High Court. A report quoted him as saying Dhanalakshmi had acquired a secret known to saints of old.
In the Lok Sabha, a member raised the issue during question hour. If the secret of Dhanalakshmi’s ability to live without eating was found the nation could solve the problem of food scarcity, he said.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said he would ask the Bangalore Medical College to look into the matter.
Accordingly, Dhanalakshmi was admitted to the Medical College hospital for observation.
One night the hospital authorities reported they had caught Dhanalakshmi’s brother while trying to smuggle food items into her room.
That was the end of the story of the Wonder Girl of Coorg.
I must say here I hold C.R. Krishnaswamy in high esteem. He came to the office every morning with a copy of the day’s paper marking all the mistakes he had noticed. Going through the marked paper daily was a great learning experience. In the case of the Wonder Girl he erred because of his immense trust in the reporter.
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