Discover how a four-line wire on swimmer Mihir Sen became a milestone story in Odisha journalism, celebrating his English Channel feat and legacy
Nilambar Rath
14 June 1997, Cuttack (Odisha, India)
While working at my desk, I received a telephone call from our editor, Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, who was calling from New Delhi. Being a Member of the Lok Sabha, he was at the capital city as the parliament was on session.
He congratulated me for my special report on the life and achievements of the celebrated Indian swimmer Mihir Sen, which was published in the Cuttack edition of ‘Sambad’ on that day.
The full-page report, featuring a large on-water photograph of Mihir Sen, was published within two days of his passing in Kolkata on June 11, 1997. The exclusive and elaborate article, under my byline, was the outcome of my fieldwork in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. It included quotes from his sister and his uncle, who had introduced Mihir to Biju Patnaik to seek support for his law studies in London.
“It is a good work. Very timely, too. You will receive a reward once I am back in Odisha.” My editor’s words were incredibly inspiring to me as a young journalist in my twenties. Soon after, I received ₹500 directly from him as an incentive for the story. (To my knowledge, this was perhaps the first monetary incentive offered to reporters for filing good stories at ‘Sambad’ during our time.)
Let me take you back to the story behind the story. On June 11th or 12th, our Edition-in-Charge, Asit Mohanty (one of the finest journalists, authors, and media mentors of Odisha), dropped a small agency copy on my table. The three-to-four-line wire report was about the demise of Mihir Sen. He asked me to check with sources and build a news report, if possible, focusing on his life with special reference to Odisha, as Mihir Sen had spent his childhood in Cuttack.
Journalism is all about searching for the soul of a story. I had no clue how to proceed. Someone advised me to check with Gopal Choudhury, a Cuttack-based veteran sports commentator, for any possible information. While talking to him over the phone, I learned that Mihir Sen’s family had once lived in Cuttack. He referred me to a locality but wasn’t sure of the exact location (I don’t remember the name today) and couldn’t provide any more details.
Somehow, with some efforts, I hit the jackpot! While searching for his roots in the city, I located his sister (quite a bit younger than Mihir Sen), who narrated the story of the making of Mihir Sen the first Indian to swim across the English Channel setting the record as the fastest Asian swimmer. Mihir’s sister shared many childhood stories about her Dada (brother) that became interesting anecdotes for my article.
Acting on her information, I further met their uncle late that evening in Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar. The old man recounted the story of Mihir Sen’s journey from Odisha to London. “The then Chief Minister, Biju Babu, had given some financial help, making Mihir’s overseas study a reality,” he recalled.
I recall the help of my colleague Jyotiprakash, our staff photographer and a resident of Cuttack. Riding on his scooter, we visited a couple of places until we finally located the house of Mihir Sen’s sister. Unfortunately, the local community had no idea about Mihir Sen and his glorious past, even though the hero had spent a good part of his life in the millennium city and remained in Odisha until he completed his graduation.
I still remember the moment clearly. The next day, I got up early and finished writing the story by hand in three to four hours. I reached the office and handed the bundle of copy, along with a good black and white photograph (which I had collected from Mihir Sen’s uncle with a promise to return it), to Asit Babu, my boss.
By lunchtime, my artist colleague, Rajesh Nayak, called me to review the layout, which was ready for the press. I was thrilled to see my report laid out on a full page with a large headline and a big, attractive photograph of Mihir Sen. The headline and intro written by me was kept intact. I still remember the headline: ‘Jeebanata English Channel Nuhen’ (Life is not the English Channel), which was interesting and symbolic, capturing the spectrum of Mihir Sen’s life—from a glorious sports star to his difficult later years.
It was, perhaps, a perfect tribute to the legend.
It was a reporting-based news feature and one of my best works in my early journalism career. The story, initially published in the Cuttack edition of ‘Sambad’, was later circulated across all Odisha editions of the media upon the editor’s instruction.
A four-to-five-line agency copy can become a full-page special story, based on solid reporting, in a leading newspaper in the year 1997—that too within 24 hours! It was probably an outcome of deep passion which has been enthralling me throughout my journalism career.
In sports and journalism, you create your own milestones. This report was indeed a milestone in my media career.
About The Legend:
Mihir Sen (16 November 1930 – 11 June 1997) was a famous Indian long-distance swimmer and lawyer. He was the first Asian to conquer the English Channel from Dover to Calais in 1958, and did so in the fastest time (14 hrs & 45 mins). He was the only man to swim the oceans of the five continents in one calendar year (1966).
These included the Palk Strait, Dardanelles, Bosphorus, Gibraltar, and the entire length of the Panama Canal. This unique achievement earned him a place in The Guinness Book of Records as the “world’s greatest long-distance swimmer”.
Mihir Sen was born in a Baidya-Brahmin family on 16 November 1930 in Purulia, West Bengal, to physician Ramesh Sengupta and his wife, Lilabati. Largely due to the efforts of his mother Lilabati, the Sens moved to Cuttack when Mihir was eight, as Cuttack had better schools.
Mihir graduated with a degree in law from Utkal University in Bhubaneswar in Odisha. He wanted to travel to England to prepare himself for the bar but was constrained by a lack of funds. However, with the financial help of then Chief Minister of Orissa, Biju Patnaik in 1950 he was able to board a ship to England to pursue his studies. (Source: Wikipedia)
(The author is a senior journalist, communication specialist and media faculty. Views expressed are personal)
