Headline : The Most Important Line

“I don't want that to be the headline”.
Terrell Owens

So true indeed! Every reader always has an opinion on the headline of any story or write-up and hence, it is imperative that a well written article is ‘led’ by an impressive headline. Headline opens or closes the door for a writer to make people read his/her article.

Often than not, a well written story but with a poor headline fails to evince the required interest whereas a great headline albeit with a mediocre story has people still reading through the lines.

So, it is important that a writer pays adequate attention to the headline and it is not an easy task.

 To capture the essence of the whole story in few words is no mean task and here lies the ability of the writing skills.

As a writer and, more importantly, as an avid reader, I look at the following when I see any headline:

Ø      Simple but yet creative - News based stories solicit straightforward headline but an article or a feature, ideally, should have a creative headline. It always is an opening door.

Ø      Humour - Have some pun or satire in it. Basically, little humour is always a desired ingredient

Ø      Basis the subject, use of some common French or latin word too is acceptable. More so, in case of travel or food based write ups. It connects with the overall milieu!

Ø      Hinglish – In Indian context, of late ‘hinglish’ has evolved as a ‘new language’ especially amongst the Gen-Y readers. So may be, depending upon the story, use of a hinglish word here and there is not a bad choice.

Ø      Ratify -  It is not actually a bad idea to have the headline run amongst few of your friends. See their response. May be take feed back too (but not too much!) and if your headline is a ‘thumbs down” by all, then there is a serious need to change it otherwise you just go ahead. Your own conviction is the ultimate check point.

Ø      Think as a reader – Always think as the potential reader before writing the headline and the story. In other words, convince YOUR SELF dispassionately on the headline to become passionate about it.

Don’t struggle too much and don’t get too serious about it and still if you are not getting it, then like everyone says, just sleep over it. It will come to you.

Follow the principle of 3 C – Create(ive), Connect & Clarify. If we can follow these 3 Cs, I guess life becomes simple and writing becomes more simpler.

So what are you waiting for? Employ your grey cells (yes I am copying Agatha Christie here) and get to work. Write the headline and the story will follow. 

The Natural Leader and His Un-Natural Leadership

Our Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh, who by ‘Nature’ is a silent man, on 17^th or 18^th June exhibited an ‘Unnatural side of his’, when he suddenly discovered and more surprisingly, announced to the world that Mr. Rahul Gandhi is a ‘Natural Leader and should head UPA-III’. He actually spoke and used these words in no unequivocal terms.

Well, it was really brave of the PM, otherwise not known to have voiced strong opinion on any issue, to become so vocal about the ‘young Vice President of his party, the relentless crusader of the cause of youth’…but imagining the “UPA-III” was, frankly, a stretch of imagination, at least in today’s times.

So what prompted the PM to make such an impromptu remark? Is it because of the emergence of a man called Narendra Modi as the potential PM candidate of BJP/NDA? Is Rahul Gandhi really a ‘natural’ alternate to this man? Can Rahul really be a match for Modi in the Battle Royale 2014!

Apart from PM and his coterie of admirers, Rahul has not really evinced any element of trust or confidence in the larger populace of this country. He has always chosen to remain in shadows whenever the country or his own party has faced any major issue! Strange behaviour!

A quick look at very few ‘natural’ achievements of this leader :

Ø      Till date India never could decide if the “future head of future UPA-III” really passed out from Harvard! And in all probability, India never will.

Ø      No doubts, he created a new political fashion..he made eating at the homes of poor people really trend! He literally tasted the delicacy of hinterland across India but only to forget his ‘star struck’ hosts too fast. Kalavathi died a hungry woman but the man she fed, never ever did anything for her. In common Indian jargon, it is termed namak harami.

Ø      This natural leader’s name has been associated with the crime perpetrated upon a girl called Sukanya Devi. She was raped in a guest house in Amethi. SC ordered a proper investigation in this alleged crime. The victim was a die hard Cong and Rahul supporter. A Natural leader indeed!

Ø      This Natural Leader of a country beset with terror threats suddenly realized and announced that India is 99% terror free…only that so many more incidents have happened since that pronounciation.

Ø      The Natural Leader, supposed to lead the country, faced a lot of protests in his own bastion- His constituency, Amethi…he was gheraoed by students and alike. This was an un-Natural reaction to the legacy of this Natural Leader. So if this Leader could not get the respect of few lakhs from his own backyard, a big question remains on his acceptability as far as larger role is concerned.

Ø      This Natural Leader has definitely shared “his own opinion” in Parliament as and when he chose to attend its sessions. By the way, he is a ‘Natural leader” who has very low attendance in parliament sessionorporate India.…no doubt, Amethi chose to shun him.

Ø      Does ‘reading from a sheet of paper’ actually subscribe to ‘sharing one’s own opininon’..his dependence upon speech/points written on a paper was highlighted during his recent interface with corporate India at a CII sponsored meet. His papers got mixed up and so did his ‘flow of speech’…in fact he said “I lost it”.

Ø      At the same meeting, calling India a beehive, he said India is complex…but may be he forgot that his own family, having ruled this country for larger years, made it so.

Ø      This “Natural Leader’s” political prowess was much on display when he was chief campaigner in UP, lead the campaign in Tripura, Gujrat and everywhere his party lost. Some Leadership indeed! Other scions in the party like Jyotiraditya Scindia or Sandeep Dixit have shown more maturity than this “Natural Leader”.

Ø      This “Natural Leader” has often said that he does not want to be PM but his party thinks so…and in the process leaves the country thinking about its future.

This “Natural Leader” has not exhibited or shared any road map for the country, its economy or social sector. He has been catapulted to the dizzying heights of political echelons by an over grateful party and its other leaders who could never learn to see any “Natural Leaders” beyond Gandhis!