Journalism was ingrained within him.
Why else would a young boy continue working for a newspaper without receiving regular pay?
When he started his journalism career, he single-handedly reported, proofread, edited, laid out, and handled other errands to produce the bi-weekly Pacific Review. Despite minimal financial rewards, Vijendra Kumar reluctantly left his beloved field to join the teaching profession, but it couldn’t hold him for more than about 12 years.
The pull of journalism was far stronger than the satisfaction he derived from teaching. This force drew him back to journalism in 1969 when he joined The Fiji Times as a reporter at the newspaper’s Lautoka office.
His rapid rise from a news reporter to bureau manager and eventually becoming the first local editor of The Fiji Times within approximately eight years speaks volumes about his character, commitment, dedication, and professionalism.
I first met Vijendra through a mutual news contact when I was a news reporter at the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. That formal introduction turned into weekly conversations about various subjects and the news stories we covered each week.
By the time Vijendra was transferred to Suva, I had already left the FBC to start my own commercial printing business.
Even though I was no longer active in journalism, our regular contacts continued and soon developed into a close friendship.
There was a tourist weekly newspaper named Fiji Beach Press, owned by Stinson Group of companies, which had a web newspaper printing machine. When they ceased operations, their printing equipment was put up for sale. I was interested in this newspaper printing machine as I had plans to revive our family’s old weekly Hindi newspaper, Fiji Sandesh. I purchased the machine and imported a Hindi typesetting machine as well.
When Vijendra learned of my purchase, he called me to arrange a meeting for a serious discussion. We met the same evening.
He opened up about his dream of starting his own daily newspaper. He believed that with my acquisition of the printing machine and combining his journalism expertise with my business knowledge, his dream could become a reality.
Our initial discussion led to many serious talks about financial viability, investment in raw materials, securing finance, recruiting staff, and evaluating all the pros and cons of the project.
Ultimately, he informed me that his family decided not to proceed with the project due to the financial risks involved, the most significant being the potential loss of his secure and respectable job with assured income.
I saw tears in his eyes as he explained his family’s decision.
As we were about to conclude our meeting that day, he said, “Well, let my dream remain a dream for another day to come true.” Sadly, for Vijendra, that day never came.
Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita says, “Death is not the end of a journey; it is, in fact, the beginning of a new journey.” I wish Vijendra well in his new journey.
Aum Shanti Aum.
Bharat Morris is a former news reporter at the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation and a businessman.