The mammoth meeting organised by Megastar Chiranjeevi for the launch of "Praja Rajyam" taught mediapersons many lessons, to put it mildly. Hundreds of enthusiastic journalists who reached Tirupati to cover the meeting barely escaped being smothered under a stampede.

Though the Chiranjeevi camp had assured the journalists that the meeting would be organised efficiently (‘corporate planning’ was what they said) and that they would be provided with hitech facilities, none of this happened. Instead, there was absolute chaos at the meeting ground. Hysteric fans scrambled up huge cutouts of the star which started swaying wildly, terrifying the wits out of those standing below.

Not many reporters would want to be maimed or killed by a cutout even if it is in the line of duty. Chiranjeevi’s brother K. Naga Babu pleaded to the fans with folded hands to come down, but they would not listen to him. Then Allu Aravind threatened to unleash the police on them and also thrashed a few to bring some order.

The surging crowds broke all the barricades and many journalists had to crawl under the dais to escape the mad rush. Others got stuck behind the dais and could not get to see Chiranjeevi while he was speaking. Police did not bother to manage the crowds, miffed at the arrogant attitude of the volunteers deployed by the Chiranjeevi camp.

The woes of the mediamen did not end even after the meeting. They had to trot around five km to find an Internet centre to send their reports. There was no sign of the hitech facilities promised by Chiranjeevi. Meanwhile the special train arranged for the media left Tirupati, abandoning more than 35 journalists.

The exhausted reporters finally reached the hotels at around 11.30 pm only to be told that they should check out immediately. Those who tried to contact the organisers of the Chiranjeevi mela only got the cryptic answer that their mobiles were switched off. This forced many journalists to rush to bus stands to catch the next available bus to their hometowns. Some were stranded in Tirupati and had to wait till the next day to reach their offices.

Interestingly, when the mediapersons confronted Chiranjeevi the next day, he made light of the happenings and quipped: "Such small things happen in big meetings." That was one punch dialogue which earned him no applause.