The 47th Harry Brittain Fellowship
6 June to 14 July
The inspiring spirit of London
By Farhat Anis (Pakistan)
Big cities have bigger vision and a big heart. It goes for London too. Exploring London a huge, sprawling city having the distinction of world's most diverse city, on your own, was an exciting experience of my life.
After landing at Heathrow, six weeks of the CPU's Harry Brittain Fellowship seemed too long. However, time flies. The interesting course, meeting people, memorable visits and receptions, and above all the events in London kept me engaged and now the time has come to say goodbye to the place, which now started feeling like a home. Moreover, the thought of bidding farewell to the friends that I have made here is depressing. Besides many others, my first friends include the nine fellows (all being senior journalists) from nine Commonwealth countries possessing different cultures and speaking different languages, but sharing the same goal. I do not know whether it was the journalistic intuition or again the charisma of London, which brought us close in a very short time.
The Commonwealth Press Union has fostered an opportunity for the development of close international relationships amongst the nine countries, as first-timers to this beautiful part of the United Kingdom. It was just one of those experiences that I will ever be thankful for.
The group outside The Guardian's offices (Farhat Anis - far left) |
The visit to London could not have happened at a better and exciting time, the Wimbledon Tennis, the lively debates for the G8 summit, Live 8 concert and the jubilation at winning the Olympic 2012 bid, but then the London bombings struck devastating the great mood and enveloping everything in sadness, shock and grief. However, it was heartening to see as how Londoners took the huge loss. The kind of resilience and fortitude, I saw on the day of the blast was remarkable. The determination to live and let live has kept the city moving and despite having transport problems and strict security measures, peace and harmony was restored in the city.
Having spent a week during the same time at UK's leading national daily, Guardian was a great professional experience for me. To observe how the British reporters were working amid crisis and the issues being rescheduled and redesigned was a unique experience. Above all, Guardian as compared to other newspapers played its role while not exaggerating the news nor playing up with the facts. Despite the pressing deadlines there were no knee jerk analyses, no sensationalism, and no race for putting the number of dead in the headlines manifesting immaculate editing. That was British journalism at its best. The selection of pictures, the variety of stories, the welfare and interactive nature of the paper and its website was inspirational. It definitely has broadened my knowledge personally and professionally.
Though the visit of Ireland was stimulating, Wales had its own attraction and Manchester gave the modern look of a city in UK, but London had the real spirit to survive. I experienced the various moods and colours of the city, which inhibits 200 communities speaking 300 languages and dialects. It is the best city in the world for taking endless walks, exploring neighbourhoods that date back to hundreds of years. The city of London has a unique political status, a legacy of its uninterrupted integrity as a corporate city and a communal centre and nothing would change that. London was the City of Dickens and Yeats and it survived the Blitz.
After visiting the King's Cross and Russell Square on and after 7/7, and looking at people holding hands and sharing the grief was a breathtaking spectacle. One cannot but salute the brave tube workers who helped passengers in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, and the passengers who did not panic and remained calm in the face of horrific scenes around them.
I knew that spending six weeks in London would bring some change in my life, but little did I know of the events that would so catastrophically do so. London will survive, as will its spirit and determination.
