TOI Where art thou?

I remember my school days when our English teacher egged us to read the English newspaper aloud everyday in order to improve our diction and clear our speech. I urged my dad to subscribe to the best Englsih daily (We had subscribed to a vernacular daily because my mother preferred it). He promptly asked our "Paperwallah" to give the Times of India to us. My dad, I remember, told me that it was the best English daily in circuit.

That was my first encounter with the TOI, one of the most respected english dailies in the country. It became a companion from thereon and I can hardly remember any mornings when I missed reading the same. It was as regluar a feature of my mornings as the cuppa tea. I owe a lot to the newspaper which help me build my political views, which helped me understand the nuances of sports, which introduced me for the first time to spiritual writings, helped me understand that our society has and requires differing voices. This was the newspaper which made my mornings insightful. The inflationary price increases in the price of the daily never dettered us from reading the same.

Once I started my graduation and my CA course, another stalwart from the Times family became my guiding beacon in the field of finances and economics - The Economic Times. I still remember how we used to "book" the copy of the ET Budget edition. I surely think that the wealth of knowledge which the ET carried helped me a lot in my academic career.

The quality of the articles, columns, views, editorials from the TOI and ET were taken for granted. The TOI and the ET were the most authoritative words in my life. They had the best columnists in that era. In fact I did not know of any other english daily for a long time. I used to hear and see the Indian Express sometimes, but never bothered to venture there. I had my two stalwart gems by my side. They were the best and would never betray me. If there was anything worthwhile happening in the world, they would apprise me of it. If it was not in the TOI or the ET, it never happened. PERIOD.

So what has made such an avid TOI and ET fan to open up a blog that specializes in proving that these are mere entertainment tabloids and no longer newspapers? Stand by for details and examples.......