Aired on NDTV and Carried Away to Hindu!

Yes, you folks read it right. This is possible right when I’m working in a different industry. Media holds power, glamour, fame, name, defame and I can go on and on. I love media as it is diverse, throws mind boggling challenges at you and offers a prodigious visibility.

I have had a rewarding exposure to media through out my education from schooling to present. At school, writing workshops is what I loved the most. I wouldn’t write as copiously as I do today but wrote a paragraph or two that appeared in Hindus "fun at school" section. In college, it was News time, Enadus English newspaper, published my short story “jack and the bean bag”. No sooner I thought nothing happened in MA, when our journalism professor took us to Hindu Press to make us relate to what we were being taught in printing, scanning, computer-to-plate, machines, 4 basic colors used in printing a newspaper and so on. I usually cannot make it to any college Programmes because of work. However, I was able to make it despite having a global video conference at office, as Hindu press is just 100 meters away from my office.

It was an uphill task to strike a balance as press event was from 4 to 5 pm IST and office event from 6 to 7 pm IST. I could have forgone the press event but thought I might never get a chance again and this was my first time. So I couldn’t resist. This global event at office is a huge affair and it was my duty to ensure a smooth execution at our site. The only saving grace was that, these two events were not clashing on my calendar and I turned it to my advantage. I was back in one hour and the office event was also a success.

I had a pre-conceived notion about Hindu before stepping into the press; an impressive notion it was. Hindu is my favorite newspaper as its vocabulary and writing styles of authors captivate me. The language is simply mind blowing. I don’t just read it but study it and pick up things. The printing press of Hindu was equally captivating. Hindu has sophisticated, state-of-the art machines imported from Taiwan and Japan. This one specific machine that prints newspapers prints a whopping 75,000 copies per hour and the one in Chennai prints 90, 000 copies per hour. One of its employees who works in the technical side took us through the various stages of printing and explained the same. Our visit was marked by larger-than-life machines and the enormous, rattling noise it produced. When we were at the major printing machine, we could barely hear what he explained. It was for the most part stimulating and exhilarating. Even the packaging is not done manually, it is segregated, counted and parceled by the machine, making it prêt and ready for the newspaper boy to pick it up and deliver it at our homes.

I stumbled upon on a chance to voice my opinion on NDTV 24*7 when it had come to Arts College, OU, seeking the youths opinion on elections. I was apprehensive when I heard the news but later forayed and participated. Uma Sudhir, NDTVs Hyderabad correspondent questioned us on our opinion on polls, voting, separate telangana issue and political parties. We ensconced ourselves on the steps inside college, where all the action took place.It was apt for the cameraman too. The next day, on March 20th 2009, the programme was aired at 8:15 am on breakfast news. I was very excited to see myself on an International News channel. I had messaged all my friends the preceding day and the next morning, there was frenzy at home. Mom, bro, papa and my maid who was sweeping the house were glued to the TV for that 15 minute programme.

It might be a microdot on our profiles but something we definitely fawn and flaunt. After all who does not like to be caught on an international news channel? These are some of my lifes most enriching and rewarding experiences.

Get the Balancing Act right!

I must say that Life is sometimes a Conundrum one cannot fathom. It is more so when life becomes perfunctory and mundane. What if you enjoy and thrive on what you do? Will it still become monotonous? Monotony is one thing we all face at some point of time or other albeit you might have the world at your feet.

Though I revel in what I do, sometimes it is reduced to monotony. I feel like a robot and machine when I go about my mechanical chores. Then there are times like this moment which makes me want to ask: will I be able to do the juggling act between college and work? I wake up at 7:30 am, exercise, morning ablutions followed by breakfast and then I scramble off my feet to college.

There’s no denying that I do enjoy college like I had mentioned umpteen times in previous Posts. Having said that, college equally riles me up. Since it’s a significant university, it’s apparently soaked in countless events: Seminars, Book launches, frequent boycotts (mighty relived that now we get to see less of it. Touchwood), Blood donation camps and the icing on the cake is when our best-in-class professors travel to places and countries (9 out of 10 times, US of A), leaving us unattended. Atleast a quarter of the entire syllabus; we are unfortunately left to fend for ourselves. That’s how it works at OU Dude! One irony we all are disgruntled about is when we make it to college, we barely have classes. And when we take a breather, classes ply in full swing! Linguistics is the last class for the day and I excruciatingly attended 3 to 4 classes hitherto since July. It’s a bloody waste of a course and time. How I wish we had a language instead. Perhaps Spanish as I know French already.Komal enrolled herself for Spanish classes outside college. I’m happy for her. I wish I could do it too but my cup is already surfeiting… Or another course like ELT or creative writing would have been great. But destiny had different plans.

I therefore don’t stay for the last class and prefer to leave to work. I morph into a clock again: Travel to work, boot up my Laptop (it takes atleast 5 to 7 min). While it boots up, I quickly rush to freshen up, come back, check my e-mails, chalk out a checklist for the day and I quickly grab a bite for lunch. Nevertheless I ensure that I accomplish ‘things-to-do’ on my checklist before I leave for the day. I wind up by 9:30, take the cab, commute to home, have dinner and sleep.

I preen over the fact that I’ve the Best-of-both World’s; I’m happy and content with this phase of life; I study and pay my own fees and things like that. Having said that, juggling between both worlds is certainly not a walk in the park. I will tell you with experience that it takes tons of patience, perseverance because there are kinks and shackles you face and above all will-power. Both college and work are on par in my priority list. However I do show laxity in college matters. Work is a serious business comparatively because if your work is not done, you are fired! As far as college goes, you can get laidback and get away with it. Tomorrow and day after I have internal assessments: 10 objective type questions. Sounds easy but you should atleast know an inkling of it. I literally didn’t touch my books; how will I when I didn’t buy any of them.

Look at me, I’m so SHAMELESS. I’m blogging instead of studying though I know well that Linguistics is a staggering challenge. More so because I can’t stand it. Will study in some time. Striking a balance is vital as both worlds need undivided attention! Semester I- I was carefree about it and scored 64%. Semester II-I planned well and put in some efforts and it did pay off. Outcome: 70%. One need not freak out but learn to do one thing at a time. Life is a book and we all need to live one chapter at a time. I apply the same formula to college and work. When I’m at college, I put my best foot forward and when at work, I respect deadlines. Thus it is imperative to get the balancing act right or else not one but both worlds will peter out!

PS: I wish I could write and publish some more Posts but I need to hold off on this for now as I have to crack Linguistics paper tomorrow, though I have aversion to it. You see, I’m getting the balancing act right...