Robert J Baite : Randomly picked by the Almighty ?

By:- Hijam Rajesh *

Death is inevitable. No one can escape from death, from those occupying the highest seat of power or prestige, to those at the bottom of the social or official hierarchy, there is no escape from death. In as much as death is a certainty, it also stands true that there is no certainty when death will comes knocking at one's door or snatch away someone's beloved.

Yes, death is inevitable but 32 is certainly not the time to expect death coming so suddenly and shockingly. My association with Robert J Baite, who passed away on May 11, 2010, dates back to more than ten years. It was the days of the letter press and the high tech gizmos which we use in producing the day's paper today was still then a pipe dream.

I still remember that day when he came to our office at The Eastern Herald Tribune, at Khoyathong though I don't exactly remember why or how he dropped in but I came to know that he was still in college.

Adieu Robert Baite

Gradually his visits to our office became more frequent and it was around this time that our Editor, Brozendra Ningomba asked him if he could read Manipuri. It was something of a surprise to learn that he could read Manipuri fluently, though he had limitations in writing in Manipuri.

Those were the days in 1994-'95 when we would spend over night at the office, with food prepared from my home and eat whatever was served. The editorial staff including Mr Brozendra Ningomba, Soubam Binoy, Ningombam Hemanta, Thingnam Anjulika, Regina Hongray, S Amen and Nando, the present News Editor in charge of AIR, Imphal unit all worked together as one family. What struck me in particular was the speed with which he grasped the skill of penning down his thoughts and turn a confusing press release into a readable news item, that made sense.

It was not only his skill in putting thoughts in ink but also his overall demeanour that made him all that more endearing. A friendly and harmless chap with a good sense of humour plus a keen sense of observing human behaviour, which was reflected very clearly in his column Random Thoughts, sums up the man in Robert J Baite.

After The Eastern Herald Tribune called it a day, unable to meet the challenges posed by the arrival of new technology sometime in 1996, we parted ways. Robert Baite in the meantime had joined the Matamgi Yakairol, at the time when its English version was launched some- time in 1999. I also followed my calling and joined The Sangai Express in 1999 .

Here is a little digression as I would like to mention how the team from the The Eastern Herald Tribune are presently doing. Soubam Binoy is currently the AIR correspondent of Thoubal, N Hemanta is the Chief Editor of the Manipuri version of Huieyen Lanpao, while Brozendra Ningomba is the Editor-in-chief of the English edition of the Huieyen Lanpao, S Amen is a businessman. K Nilamani, in the meantime is doing well in Delhi working as a Copy Editor in some publishing firm.

Thingnam Anjulika, is still the same, 'full of energy packed into her small frame' and net working with others on issues connected to the media while also contributing articles to e-pao and other portals as well as newspapers. Regina Hongray cracked the entrance examination for the selection of SDC and now she is a Government official.

This is the background of my association with Robert Baite, and when the English version of Matamgi Yakairol folded up, he joined us at The Sangai Express as a sub-editor, though it was only for a short stint as he had been selected as a Development Officer in the Life Insurance Corporation. Along the way he did a course in Mass Communication and cracked the Indian Information Service examination to rise to the position of News Editor of DDK, Imphal unit.

However, he kept in touch with The Sangai Express and a wrote a weekly article under the title, 'Random Thoughts' . Not surprisingly, 'Random Thoughts', became one of the most widely read articles in Manipur and it received spontaneous responses from the readers, especially when he invited readers to list their favourite local characteristics of Manipur with the promise that the winner will get a share of the honorarium, which he received for 'Random Thoughts'. The response was tremendous with young boys and young girls listing their favourites pouring into our office.

I have mentioned this particularly to show how well 'Random Thoughts' was taken in by the readers and how he managed to connect himself with the readers. A rare trait that is enviable, if I may add. As the years went by, my contact with him gradually began to decrease and on the rare occasions that he came to my office, we used to half heartedly joke about each others' health.

Like all humans, Baite and me too have weaknesses. The news of his death was conveyed to me by Khogendra Khomdram, the Editor of the Manipuri edition of this paper. He had received the news from Shija Hospitals and Research Centre.

It has become somewhat customary to sing paeans to a person who is no more, but what I have written about Baite is what I knew about him as a person, a sweet, charming young man, who meant no harm to anyone and as a journalist. It is hard to put ink to thoughts and emotions effectively and wordsmiths that we may be, but there is no satisfying words or sentence at this juncture.

I am also full of remorse as I could not attend the funeral service. May his soul rest in peace and my condolences to his family members, though I must add here that I never had the good fortune to meet his wife and children.

Amen.

Read Robert J Baite's Narrative here.

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* Hijam Rajesh (Chief Editor of Sangai Express) wrote this article in Sangai Express. This article was webcasted at e-pao.net on 14th May 2010.

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