Courage, thy name is cameramen

Warangal: Out there in the middle, virtually everywhere, grappling with the milling crowds and melting conditions, were the cameramen striving to capture every movement of the biennial Sammakka Saralamma jatara, especially in the last four days from February 5 to 8. Living in an era where digital content is paramount, the kind of pressure and stress the media persons were in was beyond one's imagination. And when the extravaganza is as colossal as Medaram jatara that has been invariably drawing more than one crore devotees for the last few years, it's even tougher for the cameramen and the photographers.

The advent of the new millennium brought an array of paradigm shifts especially a rapid transformation of traditional media into new media that encompasses digital, computerised, and networked-based information. With people from all walks of life desiring their virtual presence on the social media platform, it has become a huge challenge for the print and electronic media.

The threat of survival and the burn within them to score over others is what that was driving the cameramen and shutterbugs' to go the extra mile in capturing visuals. Thanks to the prevailing cut-throat business environment in the media.

The ordeals of cameramen and the shutterbugs who covered Medaram jatara as part of their duty reflect how tough to be behind the lenses. For that matter, staying in Medaram for five to six days when jatara is in full swing is itself a battle altogether. Ask the devotees who turned to Medaram, the only answer one would get is, it was tough to stay even for a day with people jostling with each other even to walk. Amenities wise, it's difficult to fetch a glass of water unless one would carry a bottle along with him. Needless to say about the ordeals of people those who are in need of loo to attend call of nature immediately.

Getting down to business, it's even tougher for them as they run with cameras, tripods, logos etc to get best visuals. "Rain or shine, the cameramen and photographers had to be there in the thick of action. It's no exaggeration to say that they have to keep an eagle eye on proceedings around them, more like policemen," Gaddam Keshava Murthy, former president of the Warangal Press Club, told The Hans India.

Senior journalist Dasari Krishna Reddy said: "With the kind of rivalry among the electronic media, it's tough to be a cameraman these days. They were seen running all the time with their paraphernalia especially during the festivals like Bathukamma and Medaram." These boys are full of courage as they display perilous acrobatics to capture images, he said, referring to the cameramen climbing towers and standing on the edges of buildings. But little did they complain about their woes, he added.

The cameramen were seen running for cover in Medaram to protect their paraphernalia when a sudden downpour caught them unawares on the last day of the jatara.

A few months ago, the crew of a vernacular television channel fell in the Pakala vagu (stream) unable to balance on the coracle made of thermocol sheets on which they travelled near Timmarayani Pahad under Chennaraopet mandal in Warangal Rural district. However, the gritty cameramen had managed to hold their cameras aloft saving it from damaging in stream waters, hey had lost their smart phones in the stream.