The news anchor was shouting. “Bihar mein hahakaar!” (Panic in Bihar!) I called my grandmother. “Dadi, are you okay?” She said: “Beta, main to chai pe rahi hoon. Kya hahakaar?” (I'm drinking tea. What panic?)
“Bihar hindi news” is loud. The anchors shout. The headlines scream. The ticker scrolls.
I watched it for 1 hour. By the end, I was convinced Bihar was on fire.
Then I called my grandmother. She lives in a small village near Patna. No TV. No phone. Just her chai and her garden.
What the news showed me
In that 1 hour, I saw:
“Bihar mein bhishan garmi, 5 ki maut” (Severe heatwave, 5 deaths)
“Sadak hinsa mein teen zakhmi” (3 injured in road violence)
“Sarkari babu pakda gaya croreon ki thekedari mein” (Official caught in corruption)
“Nadi ka jal star khatarnak, baadh ki aashanka” (River water level dangerous, flood feared)
I was scared. I called my grandmother.
What my grandmother said
“Dadi, is it very hot there?”
“Yes, beta. It's summer. It's hot. But we drink water. We rest in shade. No one has died in our village.”
“Is there violence on the roads?”
“Beta, I walked to the temple today. The road was fine. Some boys were playing cricket. No violence.”
“What about corruption?”
“Corruption? That's been there for 50 years. We still live. We still eat. We still sleep.”
“Floods?”
“The river is low this year. No flood. News is showing old videos.”
She laughed. “Beta, news ka kaam hai darana. Mera kaam hai jeena.”
What the news doesn't show
I asked her: “What is actually happening in Bihar?”
She said:
“The mangoes are sweet this year. Best in a decade.”
“Your cousin passed his 10th exams. First in the family.”
“The new well in our village has clean water. No more walking 2 km.”
“A young man from the next village started a computer class. 20 students enrolled.”
“The old temple got a fresh coat of paint. Looks beautiful.”
“This is Bihar,” she said. “Not the shouting. Not the panic. Not the crisis.”
The difference between my grandmother and the news
My grandmother has lived in Bihar for 70 years. She has seen famines, floods, riots, elections, governments come and go.
She told me: “Beta, news har saal same cheez dikhata hai. Garmi. Baadh. Hinsa. Corruption. Same stories. Different years.”
“But my life changes slowly. My son got a job. My granddaughter got married. My mango tree gave fruit.”
“The news doesn't care about my life. It cares about your fear.”
What she taught me about “bihar hindi news”
She said: “When you watch ‘bihar hindi news’, remember three things:
They are selling fear. You don't have to buy it.