BHUBANESWAR 30-Oct-2014
Heart-touching tributes were paid to renowned sports journalist and former Sports Editor of The New Indian Express, Siddhartha Mishra at a function, marking his second death anniversary at Buddha Mandir here today. A book written in Odia ‘Madhyanare Suryasta (Sunset At Midday)’ on him by his father and eminent litterateur Ganeswar Mishra and a website profiling his life and work were unveiled on the occasion.
Hockey Olympian and Rajya Sabha Member Dilip Tirkey graced the function as chief guest while Editor (Odisha), The New Indian Express, Srimoy Kar and eminent cricket coach Kishore Mania were the guests of honour. The Siddhartha Mishra Memorial Trust (SMMT) and the Odisha Sports Journalists Association (OSJA) organized the ‘smruti sabha’.
Tirkey described Siddhartha as a “true lover of sports” and said, “During my several interactions with him, I found that he really respected sportspersons. Young journalists, especially those pursuing sports journalism as a career, can learn a lot from him.”
Mania, who shared decades-old association with Siddhartha, went down memory lane and narrated incidents when Siddhartha as a youngster baffled him with his knowledge on different issues. “I always knew he was different. God had given him special talent. I used to get amazed at his depth of knowledge,” he said, adding, “With his demise I accepted that whom the gods love, die young.”
Kar recalled his interactions with Siddhartha as a colleague and said, “He was a prolific writer, that too on sports. I would at times wonder how he could write so many articles at frequent intervals. He surely had the talent and the sincerity to go very far in the field of journalism.”
Siddhartha’s younger brother and journalist Sandeep Mishra spoke about the plans and the objectives of SMMT. The trust would work dedicatedly to promote sports and sports journalists, he said. “We plan to organize a memorial lecture every year by inviting an eminent person either from the field of sports or media. Besides, we intend to conduct training programmes and workshops for budding journalists and also support young sportspersons,” he informed.
Writer Dash Benhur, lawyer Amiya Mohanty, social worker Narayan Samanta, forest officer Dayanidhi Tripathy and assistant commissioner, Survey of India, Bhaskar Parida, among others, narrated their
experiences with Siddhartha, who was fondly known as Papu. Siddharth`s wife Prachtara, son Sumit and daughter Mamali were present on the occasion.
A minute’s silence was observed in the memory of Siddhartha, who died at the age of 42 following a bout of illness while he was serving as the Sports Editor, The New Indian Express, in Chennai. He started his career as a journalist with The Times of India in 1997 and also worked briefly with English news channel, NewsX. An exhibition of his writings was arranged on the occasion.
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PHOTO: Hockey icon Dilip Tirkey (centre), TNIE Odisha Editor Srimoy Kar (2nd from right), cricket coach Kishore Mania and Prachitara Mishra unveil the book on Siddhartha Mishra in Bhubaneswar on October 30, 2014.
