By P.T. Bopanna*
Ever since the lockdown, it has been a roller-coaster ride for me as a journalist. Being a journalist who caters news to the Kodagu (Coorg) segment in Karnataka, my readers are mainly around 20,000 members and followers on Facebook.
Since there is a large following from among women, I run a Facebook group called www.coorgrecipes.com, which is an extension of my website by the same name. I have been frequently posting recipes and women-centric articles to keep women occupied.
One of the popular posts in this group are cartoons by Roy Ponnanna, under the title ‘Quarantine with Valentine’.
Then there is a jewellery page coorgjewellery.in, which is an extension of my website by the same name. I keep posting photos of women wearing trendy jewellery, not necessarily Coorg jewellery.
But bulk of the news posted by me is Kodagu-centric. Since there is an active district administration, there is a regular flow of press releases on restrictions connected with lockdown, which I share with the readers.
After the lockdown, there is much time on my hand because I hardly venture out of the house. Making use of the extra time, I have been planning a website featuring my books. I already host five Coorg-centric websites.
But the most challenging part of my work during the lockdown has been in dealing with the trolls. Whenever I share news items on the lapses of the Modi government, I get trolled badly. I manage to neutralize them through the tools of social media.
My only regret has been on how the Kodava community who were once liberal and cosmopolitan in their outlook, have turned communal and developed a narrow worldview.
*P.T. Bopanna (in picture) is a Bengaluru-based author and journalist
