A freelance journalist, Meher Pestonji as participated in
the campaign to change
rape law in the '70s, the
struggle of slum dwellers'
housing rights, children's
rights, anti-communalism
campaigns and detailed
reporting on the SriKrishan
Commission instituted to
investigate the Bombay riots
of 1992-93. When her marriage broke up, she chose freelance
journalism in spite of its inherent financial insecurity, because
of its ability to expand her horizons and enrich her life. She
revels in the opportunities to talk to street children and film
stars, to interview scientists and businesspeople and social
workers.
Pestonji calls herself 'an accidental Parsi'. She says:
After my divorce, I became a freelance journalist and came into contact with a different set of attitudes, contrary to those of my childhood friends. There was this split in my thinking, my identity. Being a journalist and a Parsi are two separate things, and often these clashed. My perception as a journalist prevailed over any kind of loyalty to my community which I don't have. Times of India, 19 Sep 99.
