Take, retake: This is how the media turned the story of Jyoti and her father into ‘Peepli Live’
Jyoti Kumari did travel 1,200 kms with her father from Gurugram to Darbhanga. But was the distance entirely covered by a bicycle? One can easily question the role of the media
Jyoti Kumari, a resident of Darbhanga, Bihar, has garnered much attention from the media around the world. As per the reports, during the lockdown, 15-year-old Jyoti had brought her injured father on a bicycle, that too from Gurugram to Darbhanga. The distance between Gurugram and Darbhanga is about 1,200 kms.
It is beyond doubt that the courage shown by Jyoti is extraordinary. Equally certain is the fact that though there have been agonising moments of human suffering during the lockdown, in the particular case of Jyoti, media has fabricated a narrative with numerous loopholes for the sake of cheap TRP (Television Rating Point). There are so many contradictions in the media reports that this whole series of events cannot be easily believed.
Now the question is, did Jyoti Kumari really travel 1,200 kms by riding a bicycle? Is it as easy as it is being told?
Firstly, one must understand the contradictions among various media reports in a systematic manner.
According to BBC Hindi, Jyoti said that she had left Gurugram on May 7 and arrived in Darbhanga on the evening of May 15. So, a total distance of 1,200 km was covered in eight days.
The Dainik Bhaskar local reporter has filed two stories on Jyoti Kumari. The newspaper quoted Jyoti as saying that the father-daughter duo had left Gurugram on May 10 and arrived home on Saturday, May 16. According to them, the journey took seven days.
A news report on the Dainik Bhaskar website mentions that Jyoti, along with her father, took off from Gurugram on the night of May 8 and reached Darbhanga on the morning of May 15. That means a total journey of seven days.
When Gaon Connection talked to Jyoti’s father, Mohan Paswan, in this regard, he said: “We don’t remember the exact day. We didn’t know then that all this would have to be told later. All I can say is that we left from there either on May 7 or 8. I can also tell you that we had reached Darbhanga at 9 pm on the night of May 15.”
The contradiction just doesn’t end here. The news went so viral that even the world’s largest media institutions, like The New York Times, had featured it prominently. Ivanka Trump, the daughter of Donald Trump, the United States President, also praised Jyoti. What’s more, the Indian Bicycle Federation has invited Jyoti for a trial.
As per Google, the distance from Gurugram to Darbhanga is around 1,150 kms. The distance up to her house can be considered as 1,200 km. Based upon the distance and the time taken to travel, it is clear that Jyoti had covered a distance of 171 kms per day by her bicycle. The New York Times mentioned in its story that Jyoti had travelled 100 miles (more than 160 km) each day by bicycle.
Outlook English, on the other hand, wrote that Jyoti mentioned that she cycled for 20 to 30 kms a day. Now, if this were to be considered, it would have taken 40 to 60 days, not a week to cover a distance of 1,200 kms.
The distance from Gurugram to Darbhanga by a bicycle, what is the real truth?
On May 20, Mohan Paswan told BBC Hindi that a truck driver offered them lift.
NDTV English started their story by mentioning that Jyoti travelled 1,200 kms by cycling with her father riding pillion, but in the middle of the news, she had also mentioned that she was offered lift by a truck driver.
Gaon Connection has footage of May 16 in which Jyoti’s father, Mohan Paswan, is saying that he was able to hitch rides upon trucks a couple of times.
In the entire video, he did not say that he had come upon a bicycle, although he did mention walking.
Watch the full video:
When we asked him about that, he said: “We just got food on the way, that too in Uttar Pradesh. Nothing was found in Bihar.”
In response to the question of whether they had used other means to reach home, he, at first, said: “No, we came by bicycle.” However, when the video was mentioned to them, he said: “Yes, a truck driver offered us lift at one place.”
Thereafter, we called up Jyoti and asked her if she had taken any help on the way. She said: “We got nothing but food the entire the way.” Did you travel in the truck too? “No, we didn’t find any truck.” She abruptly disconnected saying so.
You can hear this conversation here-
Listen first to what the father of Jyoti said,
Now listen to what Jyoti said,
The question is, how did the fact the they were offered lift in a truck disappear from the news?
In this regard, Rahul (name changed), who lives in the same village — Singhwara, Sirhulli — where Jyoti live, said: “Initially, I had made a video of Jyoti and sent it to the local media. I was moved that the girl had helped her injured father through such a distance, so I thought that this news should be printed. Mohan had then himself said that they had come on foot and by taking lifts on trucks. They had covered a little distance by bicycle, but as soon as some media came the next day, each started making them speak to suit one’s version. That’s where the news got bigger. Now, even Mohan and Jyoti tell the same.”
How did the video of the girl’s pedalling with her father riding pillion came to be?
The video story is showing Jyoti carrying her father Mohan Paswan on a bicycle. The actual truth of this video was not mentioned in any video story, but when one goes through different videos; their background will also show the school where Jyoti and his father were quarantined. This school is Sirhulli Middle School.
You can also hear a small part of the conversation with Rahul. We have modulated his voice to keep his identity under cover.
The authenticity of these videos can also be adjudged from the fact that Mohan had told Gaon Connection that they had reached Darbhanga in the night of May 15, while the cycling video was shot in the day.
“That video has been shot here,” explained Rahul. “These people had travelled such a long way but did not come to media’s notice. When the media came to them, they re-created the actual scene. As many media people came, as many times these people made them cycle and recorded the entire video by making the father sit behind.”
Look at these pictures extracted from different videos — the location is same, but Jyoti’s clothes are different. It is possible that the videos have been symbolically made, but it has not been mentioned anywhere.
“Upon Ivanka Trump’s praise, the media came the very next morning. They made Jyoti proclaim that she too is desirous of meeting with Ivanka. She could not even pronounce the name properly and had to be corrected at least 50 times. Initially, we felt that it was small news, it should spread, but now it has become such a big issue that we are also scared. Even if we are telling the truth to the people, nobody is willing to listen.”
For how many kilometres can a person cycle in a day? For how long? And up to what distance a person can cycle in a day? To know this, we spoke to Rajendra Kumar Sharma, chief coach of the Indian cycling team. He said: “A man can cycle at an average speed of 30 kms per hour with a racing bicycle. No one can run a bicycle beyond a maximum of 10 hours a day that too by oneself.”
Now, if Jyoti has completed a journey of 1,200 kms by cycling, she has cycled 171 kms a day on an average, meaning 10 hours a day at a speed of 17 kmph, that too with a man of 80-90 kg riding pillion. Rajendra Kumar said: “It does not seem possible. I have seen the video. That girl’s bicycle did not seem to be in a condition to cover the distance.”
“If someone cycles for 10 km, it burns at least 4,000 calories. We get 100 calories from a roti. A banana gives us up to 150 calories. The bicycling also depends on the type of path. Each of our players cycles at 30 kms per hour, but they are experts. They know their paths,” he said.