NOIDA: Mr Danish Siddiqui, a photojournalist who sacrificed his life while covering the conflict between Afghanistan forces and Taliban and Mr Ashish Kumar, a senior TV journalist working with India Ahead who fought COVID- 19 as a corona warrior were posthumously conferred with Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Award for Value-based Journalism in the presence of their friends and family members on October 13, 2021. The awards were bestowed on the two journalists at the valedictory function and award ceremony of Vritika 2021 organised by Media School of Delhi Metropolitan Education (DME).
The awards were conferred on Mr Danish Siddiqui and Mr Ashish Kumar by Mr Aman Sahni, Vice-Chairman, DME and Justice Bhanwar Singh, Director General, DME, respectively.
To remember the achievements and brave work done by Mr Danish, his father Prof. Akhtar Siddiqui, his mentor Dr Iftekhar Ahmed and his colleagues Mr Abbas Muzaffar, Mr Manish Swarup and Ms Saumya Khandelwal were present during the event.
Mr Ashish’s accomplishments were remembered by his wife Ms Priyanka Kumar, his friend and colleagues Mr Ankit Paliwal and Ms Ananya Dasgupta. Through a video message, Mr Amish Devgan, Managing Editor, News18 India, also reminisced Mr Ashish.
During the event, Dr Ambrish Saxena, Dean and Professor, DME Media School, emphasised that this year was more on learning than festivities. “We would continue to raise the standards of Vritika in coming years”, he added.
Dr Susmita Bala, Head and Professor, DME Media School, appreciated the efforts of the organising team. “Vritika has entered the fifth year and we wish to develop more in the future with more learning opportunities”, she said.
Mr Aman Sahni, in his message, congratulated all the participants and coordinators for the success of the event. “I expect a bigger event in Vritika 2022”, he said.
Shiv Dhawan, Muskan Baweja and MS Divyasri, students of DME Media School, anchored the valedictory session and presented the details of the three-day gala event. Towards the end, winners for the different competitive events during the three days of the festivities were also announced.
The valedictory function ended with a cultural programme wherein students from across the country presented their performances. The cultural programme was graced by the presence of Mr Suhel Saeed Khan, a renowned Sitar artist from ‘Dilli Gharana’ who spellbound the audience with his fantastic performance.
Workshop on News Anchoring
Earlier, a creative News Anchoring Workshop was conducted by Ms Jasleen Vohra, TV Presenter, Anchor & Commentator at Doordarshan.
In the opening remark of the workshop, Dr Ambrish Saxena highlighted the importance of organising a workshop on TV anchoring. “All workshops organised during the Vritika have added more value to the fest.”
Ms Jasleen, with vast experience in the TV industry, explained how ideas could be gathered from common elements to present a piece of news. She recited few lines from Javed Akhtar’s poetry ‘Bhookh’ to laid emphasis on her point. She said, “As an anchor, you are the storyteller who tells audience a truth that connects you. Make the tale realistic for the audience to grasp.”
The senior anchor, throughout the workshop, gave practical illustrations and made the students learn about the nuances of anchoring.
The final day of Vritika 2021 also witnessed fierce competition in photography, Monologue, Book/Film Review and Media Debate.
