Remembering Pranav Kaka!

Pranav Joshi, NDTV's cameraman and a very close family friend died yesterday, while on duty. He was shooting at a local school, when a heart stroke killed him. I was at Rahul Gandhi's rally at the Gujarat College grounds, when i received a phone call from a journalist friend. 

"Did you hear about Pranav Joshi?" said she.

"No.. Did he have another heart attack?" i asked.

"Yes... and he's no more." she answered.

I was shocked beyond belief. I knew he had issues with his heart. He had gone through a heart attack before... i guess even an angioplasty... and was advised by doctors to lose some weight. I last met him briefly while doing the Vibrant Gujarat story, we met briefly. I told him he was looking better with the weight loss. He replied he had lost some 8kgs and was planning to lose some more. And after telling me to pass on his regards to my dad, he moved along for his work. That was the last i saw of him.

Its not only shocking but completely disheartening to know that such a nice guy, who's been very kind to a lot of freshers around, was no more. 

I known pranav kaka since i was ten years old. He shot for my dad's stories for Vinod Dua's Parakh. I so distinctly remember that 14 day trip to Saurashtra in my summer vacation.. when my dad's team (Vikas Rajvanshi, Pranav Kaka, dad) and the family (mom, devam and me) toured Jamnagar, Junagadh, Somnath, Veraval, Mangrol... where dad shot his stories and we all enjoyed that trip together. I had made up my mind that early in the day that i wanted to be a journalist. 

All of us moved on. Pranav Kaka joined NDTV and worked with NDTV till the day he died. He's been not only a source of inspiration but also very helpful. He gave me Rajdeep Sardesai's number. He put in a word to Rajdeep. He told Rajdeep that he personally knew me and i had just come back from London after finishing my masters in journalism. He helped me get in touch with him and i took it forward from there. Had it not been for him, i would have never got to meet Rajdeep personally, nor worked with him for CNN IBN and earned so much experience and some of my best professional days. I do owe it to Pranav kaka.

And i am not alone. He's helped a lot of people around. Natu, cameraman with NDTV now, use to be a production boy.. He learnt camerawork from Pranav kaka and today he's at a respectable position and earns good, not to forget that he works with India's leading news channel, NDTV.

I dont know what caused his death. Yes, he had a heart problem. He was advised by his doctors to keep healthy, lose some weight and be careful. He was a workalcholic and use to work very hard. And considering the stress that this job brings along.. i guess News Organisations should give their staff, gym membership as a perk. Waking up early in the morning, working for long long hours and at the most odd hours, traveling, working under the most stressful circumstances, not getting enough sleep and the entire feeling of being on the edge, definitely takes a toll on the reporters and cameramen. 

And while i bid goodbye to pranav kaka, i hope i play a positive role in someone's life like he did. He will always be remembered fondly by me. Everytime i think of him, i can never visualise him without his camera. I still remember the chat i had with him about reporting ethics in riot hit Vadodara. While the stone pelting had taken a break, Pranavkaka got me some poha to eat and we both sat down talking about how careful one needs to be about what you are saying during reporting riots. We both belonged to rival channels then. He was with NDTV and i was with CNN IBN then. As we finished poha from the newspaper packet, we got back to work. He left with a smile, happy that a girl he had known as a child was doing well for herself and i left with a smile too, glad that he had been a guide and he got me poha to eat.

He was a nice man and a thorough professional. He was born to be a cameraman. He's covered everything under the sun... the earthquake, the riots, elections, massacres. He had a kind heart. I wish he had a strong heart. :(

He is survived by his wife and two young daughters.