ITAHARI: His senses of sight and hearing might be failing, but 70-year-old Ramchandra Limbu has an unfailing desire of holding bad practices of the society to the light of journalism.

The septuagenarian from Sundarpur of Morang is one of the 33 participants of a 10-day basic journalism and radio anchoring training, organised by the local Youth Reporters’ Group. Answering a query regarding the attack on Rukum scribe Tika Bista, Limbu said, ‘’Those who attack journalists are criminals. Journalists are the eyes of the society.’’ He has expressed his desire to change the society by means of journalism. ‘’I want to spend the rest of my life in this field.”

He is a regular columnist for weekly and daily newspapers in the eastern region. ‘’Frankly speaking, I don’t have any formal knowledge of journalism, that is why I joined the training,’’ Limbu admitted. Opining that all the moments of life are equally important, he said, ‘’I want to utilise the last quarter of my life meaningfully. Journalism is a prestigious job.”

On another extreme, 10-year-old Dipesh Adhikari is also a participant of the training. He is a fifth grader at local Shantinagar English School. Visually-impaired Mahesh Dahal, 26, is receiving the training as well. A resident of Baklauri-1, his mother Bhoj Kumari helps him all the way to the training venue everyday.

The organiser has managed materials in Braille for him. He plans to work as a radio jockey after the completion of the training.

Trainer Bijaya Mishra says it is an interesting coincidence. ‘’More and more people are interested in this field in the recent times,” he remarked.