Rishi Dhamala,

His education: 8 किलास फेल

तर उसले सबैजसो पत्रकारलाई उछिनेको छ । कमल थापा होस या, भरत मोहन होस या प्रचण्ड । कांग्रेसले त ऋषि हाम्रै हो भन्छन । उसले सबै खाले सरकारबाट पैसा र पदक (यी महासयले ज्ञानेन्द्र सरकारबाट गोर्खा दक्षिण बाहु पनि पाउन सफल थिए) लिएर काम गर्न सफल छन । अहिले प्रचण्ड सगं पनि राम्रै दोस्ति देखिन्छ ।

जे होस सच्चा पत्रकार हुन यिनी।

Conclusion about Rishi Dhamala from above posting:
1)the flamboyant chairman of the Reporters’ Club Nepal, adroitly squeezing himself between the two so the cameras could catch him.
2)Dhamala is a self-seeking publicist who uses his club to shamelessly promote himself.
3)He is often seen sitting sandwiched between celebrity invitees so he is always on the front page of newspapers and on television.

Yes.

The starting line of one sentence is: "To his detractors, and they are legion, Dhamala . . .

But the posting ALSO said:

See the EXACT QUOTE below:

START

"In the last six years Reporters’ Club Nepal has invited even the most inaccessible and media shy public figures for the pleasure of being grilled by Kathmandu’s hacks. Controversial political leaders, timid bureaucrats, diplomats, ministers and prime ministers from home and abroad have all gone through the wringer.

Dhamala says his job is symbiotic: the journalists get access to figures they could not otherwise interview, and his guests get to talk to the entire press corps at one go. Whatever one may say about his abrasive style and self-publicity, Dhamala is self-made. He was jailed for hawking anti-Panchayat newspapers when he was just a high school student.

The 30-year-old political science graduate was a full-time journalist until he founded Reporters’ Club six years ago."

END QUOTE

Point of this?

If one wants to focus ONLY on the EXTREME sides of a person's personality, then, one will soon be writing nasty things about one's parents too.

After all, who is perfect?
No one is.
And that's fine.

As a reader, I tolerate Dhamala's 'extreme behaviour' so long as they do NOT get in the way of -- and rather add to -- his doing this much-needed job of getting all sorts of people to come together in Kathmandu to talk publicly on issues of national
importance.

Dhamala is a maverick; an eccentric; he does not follow the established rules and well-laid-down scripts written by others for him. He seems to make his own rules and does whatever he wants to do and is prepared to live with the consequences.

How refreshing!!

oohi
ashu

damn rishi dhamala. who says,"he is democrat?" Is so, where is election in Reporter's Club? He is heading that body since its inception six, seven years ago...we need to raise voice against this kind of blakmailing. But, what is most wondering me is "why these so called revolunist, who are fighting, killing people or want radical changes, also sharing same dias with him and giving him same limelight?

I am not wasting my single word. I am using the same words from previous posting. In my view, Rishi Dhamala is the second in my list after Ram Prasad Khanal who i think are the shameless people in the name of journalism. However, i see some valid points to argue in favor of Ram Prasad Khanal compared to Rishi Dhamala. But just because of it, i can't praise him either.
If i want to focus ONLY on the EXTREME POSITIVE sides of a person's personality, then, i will soon be praising Ram Prasad Khanal too.

Anyway, it is good to see some great fans of Rishi Dhamala in Sajha.

Makar tantra writes:

"In my view, Rishi Dhamala is the second in my list after Ram Prasad Khanal who i think are the shameless people in the name of journalism."

That's your view
That's fine.

No problem.
Fine.


The point is:

What YOU think about others and what the truth about others is are TWO DIFFERENT things. Often, the truth about others is a lot more complicated than what people tell you.

I have worked in various settings in Nepal, and one lesson I have learnt -- again and again -- is this:

When you hear bad, nasty things about others in Nepal and in Nepali communities, do NOT believe a single word. Instead, quietly do your due diligence on the person who tells you those bad things about other people.

Nine out of 10 times, it's the person being bath-mouthed who eventually turns out to be much nicer than that person doing the bad-mouthing. This has been my experience in Nepal.

That said, as a consumer of Nepali journalism, I appreciate what Dhamala does to expand our collective knowledge about Nepal in public settings.

As long as as Dhamala does what he does best, I -- as a consumer of journalism -- am willing to shrug off some of his 'extreme' tendencies, which I find more amusing and entertaining than irritating or harmful.

If Dhamala were like just another run-of-the-mill Nepali journalist, he would be utterly boring and irritatingly sanctimonious . . . journalism, like all other fields in Nepal, needs its share of mavericks, eccentrics, loners, misfits and challengers to bring a whiff of fresh air. This is my larger point.

oohi
ashu

My respect for the guy nosedived as soon as he called Prachanda "mahaan raaj neta" with an awestruck "look" in his face in one of his interviews. Not that I had a high opinion of him before that, or that my opinion of him matters to him. I just "knew" him as the ubiquitous "curious face" that was plastered all over the tv, and ofcouse as the chairman of Reporter's Club. Oh well, what do I care. Good luck to him in whatever the hell he does.

The 30-year-old political science graduate was a full-time journalist until he founded Reporters’ Club six years ago.
He is not uneducated by the required standard...
He is good in making best use of the situation-are we all not suppose to do that, yes with ethics though!
Rishi Dhamala

Opinions of readers then, but he did see it early, there will be jostling to shake hands, did he have a role in initiating it,...

One thing is sure he did achieve his desire to publicity, or what else we talking about a man, whom many of us have never seen in person or read doing something herioc and great. Anyway, I respect the genius part in him...easy adaptation to changes, key to survival from evolutionary tales.
From Issue #140 (11 April 03 - 17 April 03) | TABLE OF CONTENTS

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SUBSCRIBE NT PRINT REFER WRITE TO EDITOR


I don’t know what Mr Rishi Dhamala thought before inviting Baburam Bharttarai to the Reporter’s Club function (“The man in the middle”, # 139) but one thing is sure: he forgot that Bhattarai is ultimately responsible for taking thousands of innocent lives. Because of him many children have lost their childhood, many parents have lost their only means of support. Mr Dhamala, to make it to the headlines you don’t have to humiliate the prime minister, or shake hands with a person whose hands are soaked with the blood of innocent people. There are more decent ways to do that.

Bhumika Ghimire,
Kathmandu

• Haven’t you unwittingly given Rishi Dhamala even more of the publicity he craves by that profile of him in your back page? What makes this ego-maniac worthy of precious space in your paper? He deliberately manipulated his guests and positioned himself to be on the headlines. If he is going to be a politician, then may Pahsupatinath help us all.

Lila Pandey,
Sanepa

Ashu, could you be able to spare some good words about your far to the left friend Khagendra Shangraula.

The following claim from Ashu attracted my attention,

>..The Nepali Times, arguably Nepal's most influential weeky print-newspaper,..

So what are the arguments that might convince The Nepali Times as the most influential weekly ?

I am not challenging the claim at this point. I am just seeking more information.

Ashu, you did not mean the most influential to an average Nepali reader, did you ?

Nepe

I wrote:

">..The Nepali Times, arguably Nepal's most influential weeky print-newspaper,.."

Nepe asked

"So what are the arguments that might convince The Nepali Times as the most influential weekly ?"

*******

Disclosure: I do NOT work at the Nepali Times, though, for what it's worth, I have been writing a fortnightly column for that newspaper since March 2003.

Aside: I don't know what readers get out of my pieces (though many I have met say they like my pieces even when at times they do not necessarily agree with the conclusions -- and that's fine), but I can say confidently that writing regularly has been an excellent way for me to think and learnabout a lot things about Nepal. But that's my little story.

***
Now, as for that statement:

No hard evidence, really.
Hence, the qualifier: "arguably".

The statement was intended as a bit of a provocation, to be sure . . . but then, if Sajha postings are not provocative once in a while, where's the fun in reading
them?

In any case, the statement is based on my own informal observations about what the heads of embassies, donor agencies, and heads of Nepali business community appear to be reading and quoting. I am not sure whether high-ranking Maoist netas-- surely another influential group in Nepal -- read the Nepali Times . . .

No doubt, and quite honestly, there's an element of self-serving bias somewhere in that statement-- but hey, we live in an imperfect world :-)

**********************

Sardarsingh wrote:

"could you be able to spare some good words about your far to the left friend Khagendra Shangraula."

I think he should stick to writing novels and short-stories.
He is a wonderful writer with an ear for the vernacular.
In that sort of thing, there is no one like him in Nepal.
I enjoy talking with him and reading his stuff, and have absolutely no trouble with his politics.

I have trouble when he routinely appears to insert "blatant fiction" (read: verifiable lies) into his short non-fiction prose -- and that sort of behaviour gets me, a reader, all upset. I mean, it's one thing to write opinions that turn out to be wrong eventually (and that's the nature of writing for public), but it's another to put in embellished lies upfront about events and people just to score some old-style political points. As a reader, one can excuse that behaviour once or twice -- but when the writer keeps on doing the same thing, respect for him as a non-fiction writer erodes REGARDLESS of what his politics is.

oohi
ashu

I would have given Rishi Dhamala credit if he had really tried things out of the box. He seemed to be more of the type who would force himself to be in the photograph with anyone who is important at any cost. I don’t see anything journalistic or out of the box thinking in that. That is cheap publicity.


Here in Nepal, there is a wrong notion among some people that anyone who can write can be a journalist. There is a wrong notion that anyone who can manage to interview a bigwig is a journalist. After scanning some of the vernacular as well as English newspapers and electronic media, it seems as if anyone can be a journalist and you do not have to have a basic standard for it. The worst example of journalism is reflected all over in the People’s Review weekly. They have a columnist who writes as if he were writing the editorial of the Rising Nepal in the complex style of two decades back. There is more English than the news or analysis of the news. The editor’s photo is prominently published. The letter to the editor is nothing less than a blog.

I agree that it will be nice to see someone breaking away from monotonous and stereotype style of reporting. There are so many topics on human interest stories for which the readers may take keen interest, but almost all journalists rush for reporting on political happenings and thus readers are made to read only what they write whether you like it or not. You don't need to create a news as a journalist but do need to find going deep into it and report it. The investigative journalism almost does not exist except in rare cases. Even the established publications do not seem to go after it, perhaps due to resources constraints or lack of interest?? After one or two follow up, a story is left to forgotten for ever unless it surfaces back on its own later.

Isn’t it a reporter’s job to report an event the way it is seen, fully in its entirety and with a follow up? Does one must colour it with negativism just to make it newsworthy?

Most of the times you find more NEWS in the different blogs than in the mainstream newspapers.

Then we have our Vijay Kumar who seems to place himself much above his interviewee. I used to like his interview but no longer. I was quite amazed to hear the way the journalists placed their questions to those who came to the Rayamajhi Commission. I can understand the journalists wanting to ask some provocative questions. I wish they had maintained some decorum while putting forward their questions to the handlers of the regressive regime of the Royal government so that they send the message showing differences between the two governments, pre and post Janadolan II.

Back to Dhamala, what I see on him is display of chameleon behaviour. I don’t think we can call that as an out of the box act since we have so many following the same act. I think Dhamala’s educational credential is irrelevant if his coverage or reporting met a certain standard expected of a journalist. The question is, did it? I would judge a journalist not by his photo on the front page but on the basis of the news, views or analysis of the news presented for the readers. If a journalist is often on the headline news, I would think it is because of the reports he or she presented to the readers. I think what Dhamala is good is at sticking is head in just before the click of a camera. May be some day soon when the politician bug in Dhamala moves him to devote full time politics, then the Nepali journalism will get a respite to look back and see where it is.

These are just my rambling thoughts.

"Then we have our Vijay Kumar who seems to place himself much above his interviewee."

Don't get me started, the narcissist gives me migraines. He is clearly in love with himself and loves hearing his own voice. This guy thinks that the world revolves around him. He lives in a make-believe world where he thinks he is in a different league. Somebody should shake him out of his stupor. You don't find a trace of modesty and humility in him. Arrogance is clearly writ on his face. Some people may find his eccentric and obstentatious behaviour attractive but quite frankly I find them sad and pathetic, much like a child throwing tantrum to draw his parents' attention. Needless to say I can't recall the last time I watched his show.

Rishi dhamala, I am impressed man !!

"Then we have our Vijay Kumar who seems to place himself much above his interviewee."


Again, why shouldn't Vijay "place himself much above his interviewee?"

Let me make that question clear:

I am no fan of Vijay Kumar -- but, increasingly I have thinking: In all of these 20-plus years that Vijay has held center court in our Nepali Tellydom, how come the rest of Nepali sociey has FAILED to provide any legitimate competitors to him?

I mean, look around -- and who do you see as Vijay's competitors in that space in
which he operates professionally?

Virtually no one.

The point is:
Competition is the lifeblood of excellence in any field. And in the absence of competition, even the best people go bad quickly.

Vijay Kumar is preening and prancing around and holds himself in absurdly high regard precisely because he sees and fears absolutely no competition.

And failing to provide him any competition in the last 20+ years is also our collective failing in some sense. And that's what worries me more than any dancing and prancing on Vijay's part.

oohi
ashu

“In all of these 20-plus years that Vijay has held center court in our Nepali Tellydom, how come the rest of Nepali society has FAILED to provide any legitimate competitors to him? “

I think that is a fair question to ask. In any case, I, for one, could do without seeing a day of the competition, or a copycat, in the styles of Vijay Kumar and Dhamala, which, in my opinion, will spare the Nepali journalism from breeding a wrong group of journalists –void of any modesty and self humiliation.

The reason the type of Vijay Kumar and Rishi Dhamala thrives in our society is because do not go with the contents they hand over to us, we simply get mesmerized by who they are with. Lack of modesty is often times mistakenly taken as boldness.

Take for example, the way our society looks upon a corrupt person. He is never condemned, rather held in respect because of or despite his ill gotten wealth. And the competition never ends to earn more through corrupt means.

Unfortunately, many in the civil society and those who can write, in English as well as in vernacular, hold them in awe and fearful lest they be made a subject of their criticism. Right from the school, we have this superficial perception built in among some people just because one can speak and write English fluently, he or she is taken as an intellectual, no matter what a garbage one says or writes.

And, on the question of why did we fail to provide competition?

I agree 100% competition is good and we ought to ensure a level playing field and equal opportunity for all but that has been just a political talk. If you look around, in the end, it all boils down to a single point of political discussion being focused today that is “samaweshi”.

Perhaps there lays the key to the competition question. Again, these are just my thoughts as a consumer...

He does it again. Rishi with the new Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Rakesh Sood, at the Tribhuvan International .

. seems like  .............. .he is has an amazing skill that,, he  can adjust with  any one, anywhere, anytime hehehehe   i think that's  what we all have to learn frm him.....................  

Ohh, when was he discharged from hospital. Just few days ago, he was a News-topic after getting hurt in fire and was visited by Mukharjee, the outgoing indian ambassador and some other high profile leaders. I was talking with a few friends of mine, how this guy could make ambassadors, and high profile leaders visit to his cabin in hospital?

See other journalists, who have won big prizes, done excellent reportings, have excellent journalism records but they go unnoticed if they are in trouble. But this smarty Dhamala is different. As a journalist, he rarely publish reports written by himself, he rarely takes interview or host live programs, he rarely analyse events, he does not write columns, he goes in reporting only if a celebrity leader is on site. But still, he has big name in Nepali journalism.

As a journalist, he does only two things (1) he stays behind a person who is being followed by other scoop hungry journalists such that his face is captured in photographs and videos immediately behind the target, and (2) he invites people to speak in his club. In addition, he must be very active in background for making contacts with a wide array of people brokering information and influencing media editors to chose the picture with his face in the front page.

Anyway, he has earned the status of one of the most influencial persion in nepali journalism.

In one public meeting in Kathmandu last summer, I was myself surprised with the ease and steadfastness with which Dhamalaji was connecting to people even with the slightest significance.

 

I was an obscure audience in the meeting. But Dhamalaji was kind enough to introduce himself and exchange business cards with me right after I exchanged greetings with some VIP guests there.

 

He also introduced me with his newly launched website, reportersclub.org, which when I checked last time did not have much content in it.

 

Dhamalaji might or might not impress you much, but I sure am impressed with the success of his “Reporter’s Club” as one of the most sought venue for political publicity in Kathmandu.

 

Nepe

Lato desh ma , Gado tanneri .

He is a total bullshit.

I would suggest any other budding journalist or people with the slightest inclination to journalism , to open another " New Nepal " Journalists Club to counter this, publicity hungry faggot , who just flouts the ethics of a modern day journalism.

Look at his contribution in Nepalese Journalism. Has he ever gone out of Kathmandu ? Has he ever reported even from Bhaktapur ? I know he just lives near Putalisadak ( near his club ) and the motor bike he rides can only travel 15 km radius on whichever he goes from there.

I beleive he is not somebody who we have to highly look up on .

He is a " pimp" for all lazy journalists in Kathmandu, who dreadly need some scoop.

For me, journalists and reporters who go out to report in far flung areas and then come to kathmandu to heckle the decison makers are the real thing.

Not this, " filthy " and "corrupt "- remember he too had eaten Gyanendra's Handi , some time back.