Farewell letter from a journalist after a 28-year career

Farewell letter

After 18 wonderful years with The Economic Times, it is painful for me to write this note, saying I have got to go. In the process, I would also like to believe that I’m at the finishing line of the formal, full-time career that I so enjoyed over nearly three decades, a majority of that with ET.

Two reasons influence the decision to hit the pause button: That I’ve turned 50 recently – a milestone I had kept in mind at which to stop – and the need to be by my father’s side as he negotiates the nineties. Thus far, at 94, he’s been doing it nimbly! 

I hope a few snatches from a little memoir I’m preparing on my career are enough to explain the absolute pleasure I derived through these years. So, here goes:

What fun, what joy, what diverse experiences and what satisfaction right through, and how it all went by in a flash! Geography and topography ensured that there would be wonderful diversity even in the commute to work: By boat to the Fort Cochin office, by suburban electric train in Bombay, by foot in Coimbatore, driving a car to the Thiruvananthapuram office, and in the rickety comfort of the auto-rickshaw in Chennai.

Each day brought its share of wonderful, colourful and intelligent people to interact with. What joy having a chat about his emirate with the king of Ras al Khaimah, Shaikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi in his palace, or hearing Thevan Raja Mannan, one of only two tribal kings in India, describe social changes among his Kani tribe. How interesting, listening to Jeffrey Sachs explain the importance of linking food subsidies to school education, getting Noam Chomsky’s version of the Middle East peace process, hear Richard Stallman describe the role he saw for free software, or listen to US secretary of state Hillary Clinton analyse the latest geopolitics.

I would love to go on with these thoughts but I can hear a voice advising me against it: The voice of the young sub editor of 1984 who had the beauty of brevity drilled into him, saying that there is a time for everything. And this is the time to leave.

Word-play comes naturally to journalists, so do excuse me when I say I’ll be moving from fourth estate to rubber estate, as I join my father in managing our little rubber plantation at Koovappally, near Kanjirapally in Kottayam district. Should you be passing by, do drop in because I hope to have all the time in the world to not only stop and smell the roses, but also indulge in easy conversation. We could pick a spot under a lemon tree or a nutmeg tree to sit and chat, if not under the rubber trees. I can assure you I haven’t come across anyone for whom I’d put a chair under a coconut palm.

As I say goodbye to a full-time career, I feel like a school final year boy who cannot sit in class the next year, regardless of the exam result. But just as each day in school was savoured, I enjoyed every day at work. Thank you for making it so memorable.

God bless you                                                        

Joe A Scaria

Senior Assistant Editor

The Economic Times

Chennai, July 31, 2012

(Today, August 30, 2012 is my last day in office.)

Since I have your attention, may I add the first thing on my plate for the immediate future: A 20-page ‘resignation book’ that I’ve written is almost ready for publication. It chronicles my 28-year career, and how India and the world changed during the time. Request your support for the book, which is priced at Rs 100, and can be read through in a flash. Thanks.