Mohammed Safi Shamsi

Hey! looking for me?

Hi! I am Safi.

This is my personal web presence.

I work as an editor at a leading media house.

I am a communicator, journalist, and digital content creator. I have invested over 20 years in my domain with exposure to print, television, and digital mediums. 

I love interacting with people interested in this amazing professional field. I am always eager when there's an opportunity concerning training/ teaching/ learning the craft. 

An alumnus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), I have worked with leading media brands - The Statesman, The Indian Express, NewsX, Headlines Today (now known as India Today) & AajTak, Business Standard, News18 India (earlier IBN7) of Network18 and Deccan Herald.

I had led content & communication at Omaxe Ltd, India, in 2019. Between Jan '21 and May'21, I steered content as business editor at The Electronics (now off-line), a leading digital media platform dealing with electronics and large consumer appliances. 

Print, TV, desk & field reporting - I worked in different profiles in journalism and communication. 

Journalism, communication, futurism, Indian politics, science & technology, world affairs, education & academics, industry and start-ups, science fiction, scouting, and camping are areas of my interest.

Our city, our trams:)

As a student, one of the best (and one out of the few) things to experience in our city (Calcutta, then, now Kolkata) was trams. 

During schooling years, and till college days, trams remained a close associate. There was something 'organic' about these machines, that roared like monsters while passing through narrower roads like Elliot Road (south-central Kolkata).

I had my favourite routes too. One of these is the Maidan route, which connects Esplanade to Kidderpore (and other southern localities). Off-office hours, any tram route was a rejoicing experience. Besides being a cost-effective and slow journey, it was always a safe ride. 

Of course, whenever I took a tram for a journey, there was always a plan-B if something goes wrong on the way. A temporary power-cut (trams don't pollute as they pass by, as they run on electricity), trams running off the tracks, some repair work taking place on the way, a traffic-choked road, a protest or hundreds of people walking in a rally disrupting traffic movement, suspension of service due to water-logging on the streets - anything was a possibility.

Statistically, trams had a steady frequency during office hours.

As the city evolved, and newer modes got added - metro train routes, auto-rickshaws on shorter routes, personal two-wheelers, trams were expected to compete.

...

As a citizen, I observed that trams continued to thrive. There were beautiful attempts - special trams, special occasions, campaigns, etc. The city planners and citizens have differing opinions. Personally, we all want to experience a smooth flow of traffic. But people who have grown up with trams do love these machines, and so do most Kolkatans.

...

Recently, as I stood by the roadside to board a bus, I saw a single-coach tram headed my way. These are AC coaches with wifi facility. While to us it may sound 'costly', the ticket is priced at just Rs 20 for a journey that may cost much more if you take an aggregator-app-cab for the same journey. The interior was neatly done, the door was functional, the seats were good.

...

We love trams in our city like we love many other things in the city of joy. It doesn't matter if you differ. :)

#Kolkata #Trams #pollutionfree #cityofjoy #transportation #cityguide #mohammedsafishamsi

Keying in 'I love you' is not pinging three hearts!

 

Are we losing our ability to express our inner self? Go a decade, or rather two, deeper into what was the norm. Write, write, write - just one step of the quad-write, read, speak, hear - we adhered to, when it came to learning language.

Such a powerful tool, having evolved over thousands of years, is now stooping low before clicks that pixelate our view and then transfer it miles away in moments. Will we stop writing, having accepted speech and visual as the new norms? 

It's tough, indeed, to learn to write. Learn, at first, to identify symbols (letters) that express not only what's in front of the eye but also within. Then join the same symbols to express basic ideas. Again, learn to combine the phrases and sentences to give birth to something that has the potential to revolutionise the present, and the future. 

Can the visuals and the audio do all of the stuff that we did with text for ages. Is it the return of the cave-age of visuals. A thumbs-up (confession: I frequently use in chat-responses), or down, is a quick expression or response. An emoji, perhaps, expresses more than saying 'thanks', 'ha-ha', 'I like your expression'. But, it also restricts boldness and leaves response partly open to interpretation. 'I love you' is not same as pinging a 'heart'. 'I missed you', 'let's catch up', 'you are my best buddy' - how many phrases can we express with visuals?

Then comes a higher stage when you don't only understand what you write, but also what the writing actually depicts - a second layer, a certain mood, a certain meaning, a piece of writing which is open-ended and you are left clueless or with clues to decode the meaning. 

The plots we build before the climax, as we are telling a story, textually. The poetry 'Full stop'

Just as 'Full stop' cannot replace '.', visuals while being important cannot eat away the letters. There's no blaming here. Acquiring the ability to master writing always meant hard work. Then, or now. There's no generational change to blame. Only the hardworking souls will continue to master the art and science and commerce of writing. Rest can find the shorter route to expression, and so will they discover the world, only on smaller a canvas. Happy writing!

photo courtesy: Hannah Olinger (writing), Annie Spratt (rose)/ Unsplash