On the Occasion of World Sports Journalists Day , Discover East brings to you an exclusive interview with Gitika Talukdar. This eminent face in sports journalism from Northeast India has covered multiple international sports events from Olympics to World Cups.
Please tell us a bit about yourself.
I am sports journalist as well as a sports photographer and both happen simultaneously. I started my career in this direction in the year 2005 when i was a student of journalism.
I am originally from Chamata in Nalbari, Assam, but was born in Arunachal Pradesh. Due to the transferable nature of my father’s job we got to travel many states and finally back in Assam in the year 2001. Since Childhood I was fascinated towards photography as my Grand Uncle Late Chandra Talukdar was a renowned filmmaker and director those days. Whenever we visited Guwahati for our vacations, I used to go and meet him and found his work very interesting.
My schooling comes from various Kendriya Vidyalayas across India. I graduated in Political Science from Dibrugarh University after which I completed a One Year PG Diploma in Mass communication and Media Technology from IMCM, Media Trust in Guwahati, Assam. I also have a PG Diploma in International Relations from BCIS Colombo.
My career started as an intern in Eastern Projections. It was a photo news agency which was working for DNA, The Telegraph and BBC and circulating its services to local media as well. After that I joined Purvanchal Prahari and later on Amar Asom with G.L Publications. I have also worked for India Today, and as a contributor for PTI and AFP. I have worked with Daily Financial Times in Colombo as well.
As a sports journalist and photographer there I need to travel a lot so gradually I switched to freelance. And the best part of freelancing is that no body can restrict your movement.
Out of all the fields of journalism, why Sports?
Sports mean discipline, which always attracted me. Everything starts and finish on time. Sports photography is one of toughest and challenging of jobs and I love to accept challenges. That is why I have chosen a job of photojournalism. Girls hardly switch into this profession as it’s quite tough and challenging and obviously it’s totally a male dominated field. But I was mentally prepared to face all the challenges and consequences. That is how I had started and from past 16 years I am in this field with both sweet and bitter experiences.
Tell us about your achievements in the field of Sports Journalism.
In Sports journalism my achievement is when I have received official accreditation from FIFA to cover the prestigious FIFA World Cup 2018. It was held in Russia and I was the only journalist from Northeast India who got the opportunity to cover this prestigious event. Since 2007 I have covered many National and International Tournaments. Few noteworthy are National Games 2007, Common Wealth Games 2010, IPL Series 2013 till present, ISL Series 2014 till present, FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, AFC Cup 2019, South Asian Games 2016, India Pakistan Leagues and ICC Women’s World Cup.
As you have been in this field for quite sometime now, tell us something about any memorable interviews that you have taken.
In the vast field of journalism I got the opportunity to meet many celebrities and in the field of sports almost all legends. My most memorable interview and photo shoot was with Former Cricketer of New Zealand Sir Richard Hadlee in Colombo when he visited to his Foundation where he gave free coaching to the budding cricketer basically to the underprivileged children. When i saw him for the first time he was giving training to the children showing them how to throw a ball, how to catch a ball, etc. And second interesting personality was Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakara a down to earth personality who always keeping a sweet smile on his face. Other memorable interviews include MS Dhoni and Mary Kom.
According to you, what are the prospects of Sports Journalism in Northeast India
Sport is doing well in India and the Northeast too is not lacking behind. There is a good scope of sports in Assam in future. Honourable Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju also putting his effort for the all round development of sports in India. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is doing his best to make Guwahati as the Sports Capital. And with the rapid growth of sports facilities, grows the prospects of sports journalism.
Any suggestions for budding Sports Journalists?
Sports journalism has a lot of scope as India is hosting many prestigious International events. There are good scopes for the sports photographers to cover these events. As an official photographer to a event, one can earn a good amounts of money. A budding photographer can choose the field but one need to be both physically fit and mentally prepared as you need to seat or stand whole day under the sun and sometimes rain as well. So work hard and capture the moments of history.
Read about World Sports Journalists Day in Discover East .
