i have a prayer after all

...but first some background. Before I leave for work each morning, I quickly glance at the headlines of one US newspaper and one Indian newspaper. The New York Times does it for me as far as local news goes. And since no self-respecting Indian with even half a brain will read The Times of India, I read http://www.rediff.com/ to get the lowdown on India.

This morning, I was expecting the Indian newspapers to be full of news from Delhi. I was expecting see a few reports on the explosions, perhaps some sort of writeup on the Islaami-Inquilabi Mahaz outfit, some analyses from the movers and shakers, the impact on the peace process with Pakistan, preventive measures, general outrage. Things of that nature. In short, I expected the newspapers to be in a tizzy.

I would say that this is not an unfair expectation, given that the explosions took place on Saturday evening and today is only two days later. Everyone remembers how everybody, including the Indian media, went batshit after the London blasts, yes? So I was expecting a bit of media chatter.

Here are the top headlines on rediff today:

• Dhoni demolishes Sri Lanka
• Noted Indian writer Amrita Pritam passes away
• Death penalty awarded in Red Fort attack case
• Delhi blasts toll: 62, Compensation doubled
• Did Jobs kill the iPod mini too soon?

In my opinion, it says a little something about a country and its people when the top news story two days after a terrorist attack that wipes out sixty people gushes about how wonderfully our cricket team is doing.

I was a little surprised at the general sense of calm and poise among the editors of Rediff. Then a thought crossed my mind, "Maybe the folks at Times of India, in an uncharacteristic fit of journalism, are covering this story better."

I saw the following headlines on http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/:

Suniel Shetty has a bumpy ride: Onlookers peer at the star’s imported 'Hummer'
Army rushes in to help Chennai tide over rain waters
Court reserves order on JN Yadav's bail plea
Your old pals are dead, find new ones
Gulshan Grover to beat up Bond
Indian faces racist brunt in UK
When Prince Harry dropped his pants

Nothing about the bomb blasts. Zip, zilch, nada. Then I noted that the entire web site was dated October 27. And I remembered the first commandment of journalism: A daily newspaper shalt not feel the urgency to update its web site more frequently than once a week, especially after a human tragedy.

I smacked my forehead, a little ashamed at my general lack of smarts, and moved on. I did not go very far.

My next stop was http://in.indiatimes.com/usdefault.cms, from the TOI group again, and they seemed current and up to date. I have no idea why TOI has two web sites; my guess is that they maintain one for those who are merely braindead, and the other for those who are beyond all repair. The top headlines were:

Dhoni rains sixes as India thrash Lanka
Dhoni is the king, Gilly goes for a six
In pics: hits and misses of the 3rd ODI
We have a lot more options now: Dravid
Noted writer Amrita Pritam passes away
Ms Perfect: send birthday wishes to Ash
Tabu @ 33: 33 leaves from her album [Author's Note: Whaa?]
Shahid Kapoor does a Mr India!
In the loop: 20 times sexier in desiwear
Indra Nooyi all set to lead the world
Vani Kola: an NRI success story

I will now request the few readers of my blog to join me in raising a toast to Mr. Dhoni. As you can see, he has done admirably. I moved on to Indian Express. Their web site was dated October 30. Out of time and patience, I went to work.

So where's the prayer? That comes tonight. To be continued, for sure.