Sword's mightier?

There are countless stories about M J Akbar. Countless. But the one I like the most happened 30 odd years ago.
Legend has it that MJ (as he''s called) in a fit of rage, threw his typewriter out of a glass paned window. There was stunned silence in the cramped cabin he shared with other journo trainees.
Understandably, the management was not amused. And again, understandably, the management did not fire the fiery trainee who''d come all the way from Calcutta to Mumbai to change the world.He was brilliant. His editor knew it. And so did his colleagues. Broken glass? Devastated egos? Furious seniors? Sure. But MJ stayed. Aah, the insulation genius provides.
The typewriter incident gets frequently quoted. Each time it is recalled, the narrator adds a few extra flourishes. And the MJ myth only grows. People who''ve known him over three decades, add their own mirch-masala.
``That''s nothing, yaar. . . . '' '' they start off saying, ``Remember the time, he drank till dawn and then jumped into a car, headed for Bhagalpur/ Chikmagalur/Sarangpur... and then filed a fantastic report?'''' Or, ``Remember what happened at that dinner when MJ came face-to-face with his bete-noir? That poor guy/girl didn''t stand a chance?'''' And, of course, there have always, but always been the more gossipy colourful tid-bits about MJ and his besotted groupies -- the doe-eyed, alarmingly young female reporters, willing to give their jeans for their high-flying boss? Why not? MJ''s swash-buckling hands-on oops) style of running the newspaper business comes as a charming, inspiring (and yes, old fashioned) throwback to an era that was driven by ideals, intellect and dare suggest it, romance.
MJ is the quintessential hack -- the sort one only meets in movies and fiction. Hard-drinking, toughtalking, non-compromising, mercurial, and above all, bloody good at his job.
It is journalism at its fiercest and feistiest. And MJ it is, who dazzles with his sharp intellect and penetrating analysis. This, of course, sets him up as a favourite target. But in any case, MJ was hardly cut-out to win popularity contests. And to his credit, he never tried. He was there to produce first-rate copy, to edit his paper/magazine, to push his team to do its best, and to have fun... definitely to have lots and lots of fun. I consider MJ extraordinarily fortunate, in that he has been able to have his kind of fun successfully for 30 long years.
Like Frank Sinatra, M.J has pretty much done it his way. Likeable, he may not be. But readable, he most certainly is. If one can forget his brief flirtation with politics and what was perceived as a sell-out to the system (the infamous Rajiv Gandhi years), MJ has managed to carve an identity for himself without resorting to a single cheap trick. As a wordsmith, he has no equals. He is simply the best journalist/writer in India.
As a scholar with five masterly books to his credit, I''d say he''s a commentator in a league of his own. With his latest work, ``The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity,� MJ is all set to stun academics the world over with his incisive, well-researched arguments, impeccably presented in faultless prose. For that achievement alone, M J can be forgiven any and every “crime� (real or imagined). He is easily one of the most dazzling thinkers of our times.
Ruthless in his judgements, fearless in his beliefs. It is not important whether one agrees or disagrees with his provocative views. What counts is the naked passion that defines them. It is this unbounded passion that has stamped MJ''s life. Today he has several enemies, and innumerable critics.
People who''d love to see him fall flat on his face. There are those who accuse him of playing ball with big business, of partisan reporting and soft- peddling of issues that don''t suit his personal agenda. Maybe there''s some truth there. But there''s still no denying MJ his due as an outstanding chronicler of contemporary history.
And now to demolish the rakish image.... Does anybody know MJ the doting father of two young adults? I do. Sort of, and MJ avatar as Daddy cool, is definitely his best to date. Oh-oh. Was that a typewriter that just flew past my head?