Jaipur: Senior journalist Ravish Kumar on Friday said writing has helped him evolve from a "fearful" person to someone who can question those in position of power.
The former TV anchor, who has authored books like "The Free Voice", "A City Happens in Love" (Ishq Mein Shahar Hona), ("Dekhte Rahiye") and "Ravishpanti", was speaking at 'The Nature of Fear' session on the second day of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) here.
What gave you the conviction to question those in position of power
It was moderated by Satyanand Nirupam, editorial director of Rajkamal Prakashan Group, and Ravi Singh, publisher and co-founder of Speaking Tiger Books.
On being asked what gave him the conviction to question those in position of power, Kumar said there are days when he doesn't have the courage to do it.
"There is so much impact on the mind and body that sometimes I leave it and you are doing it alone... I used to be a very fearful person, even about crossing a road. People who knew me back then were surprised 'How is he able to speak so much?' "There are many moments that end up giving you the courage. Writing helped me evolve a lot. The more I write, I fear less. The more I speak, that fear starts becoming even more insignificant. When the process of speaking ends, the fear starts to grow. That's why I start writing the next day. When you write you speak to yourself, there is no viewer. The more you face yourself, the more you will fight with yourself," he told a packed crowd at the Charbagh section of JLF.
Define fear
Asked how he would define fear, Kumar quipped answers to such questions could only be found in books by Baba Ramdev, before adding said definitions were bound by time and context.
"I have my fears due to different reasons, you have your fears due to some other reasons. But in this era, both our concerns merge somewhere. If we understand that, we can work towards to remove them. You will have to fight a lonely fight to counter your individual worries," he added.
Asked by an audience member that after going independent as a YouTuber, he has begun requesting people to 'like-share-subscribe' his channel whereas during his stint at the TV channel, he had often described "Prime Time" as a "zero TRP show", Kumar said, "They often did not let the show reach the masses and that's why I used to call it a zero TRP show. But even then people used to watch it."
