The Inverted Pyramid

This has become such a common journalistic technique, that often the reality of the situation is lost sight of. After all, it is always a certain degree of sensationalism which sells a newspaper, and who, on the editorial staff, cares if the public receives a lopsided view of what is actually happening, provided the circulation goes on increasing. The 'inverted pyramid' is an accepted part of news presentation, but, because it is resorted to by the media, that does not mean that we should allow ourselves to slip into accepting it as a formula to be applied to the destiny of a whole people. If society is to be properly built, we cannot begin at the top floor. We must begin at the foundations and work our way painstakingly upwards. The makers of promises are wont to make fine speeches about the top floor, but can anyone put the roof on a building before even the first foundation stone has been laid? True creativity has to begin at the base. Solid construction must stand on solid foundations. Remove Suspicion Once, many years ago, when I was buying ticket at Azamgarh railway station, a villager came to buy his ticket just as the train was about to depart. He put his fist inside the ticket window, opened it and dropped a number of small coins on the counter. The clerk was annoyed and said: “Give me currency in notes, I don’t have time to count all this change.” I felt sympathetic towards the poor villager. I immediately took out a note and offered to exchange his coins with my note. But the villager did not accept my offer. He looked at me suspiciously, and then silently moved off in another direction. By moving fast, I managed to board the train. However, my eyes followed the villager out of curiosity. Most probably he was not able to buy the ticket on time and so could not board the train.