After a long hiatus

Forgetting your roots is a crime. That makes me a criminal of first order. Really!

Okay. Blogging has not been a priority in the last year because I was writing different things elsewhere. I now have some three blogs and many articles. It's been a hectic year. 

I learnt,

Journalism isn't just about good English and writing but also involves news searching and making/maintaining contacts. So, the whole year went by in meeting some media honchos, politicians, localites, tribal's and travelling all over Chennai.

Lets start with Chennai. It certainly is not the best city, but it isn't very bad after all. The infrastructure sucks but the modes of commutation are well connected. The chats are terrible but dosa/idli/sambar do their bit to salvage. The language is a problem for the non-Tamil speaking population. And this is where I became famous. So, I was the girl who could effortlessly communicate in English, Hindi and Tamil. And considering that the maximum population at the college were from the northern side, my translation skills came into play. Thus, the rescuer/ basic Tamil teacher (mostly included, bargaining with auto guys) was born. It was fun listening to people from diverse community making so much effort to learn a language. #thishappensonlyinIndia.

#knownfact: Chennai has the worst auto drivers ever. 

#unknownfact: I have a fight with auto drivers in every city I go. Some past life connection, just doesn't allow an auto driver to have his way or win an argument when I am his passenger. But, Chennai, at first, just wouldn't let me have my way. So, I just unlearnt some tactics and learnt them again from a gujju roomie. Oh yes! Gujju's are born with bargaining skills and yeah Chennai auto driver's succumbed to her bargaining whims. We had the final laugh.  

The course was super tight, although our website never went live. Let bygones be bygones.

Hostel life also teaches you to eat at 3 am and finish a TV series at one go. Throughout my stay I have watched innumerable movies and English sitcoms. Sometimes I feel, this was the only thing I did. Jokes apart.

Apart from that I travelled all throughout Chennai and have become 4 shades darker. 

Chennai why you not have a winter?

Coming to winter. This winter I was in the midst of snow and the ice cold beas river, MANALI. Well, I was thrilled to bits and cold till my bones, but, had an amazing holiday. Also, I was in Delhi before going to Himachal. Delhi meant unlimited shopping with my super aunt. Delhi also has an amazing metro and good looking men. If only it was a little more safer, it would be my destination to settle down at. 

After the two back to back holidays, I went on another holiday cum work destination -Kolli Hills. The picturesque location is in Nammakal district of Tamil Nadu. As part of the course, we had to go on a rural reporting trip. Oh boy! It was one fun trip. Great memories and even better stories. 

The one year of staying away also taught me lessons that would last a lifetime. For now, I am relaxing and enjoying the little break, before I join work, and experiencing some unwanted surprises.

Apart from the rest, I am going to explore my brand new camera and delve into the much needed exercise. The updates would be posted more frequently.

Watch this space for more.

An update : Life in Chennai

I am loving my new life.

The college part, the hostel, the friends, the late night talks, the microwave maggi and the whole idea of being a journalist. This new phase is exciting and extremely challenging. But, yes I'm loving it.

The course is well structured and very detailed. More about it later.

First about the city, it's a perfect blend of traditional and modern culture. You'll find a short skirt and spaghetti top wearing girl in the same street as a lady wearing a fully covered traditional 9 yard Saree. I like that. Otherwise, Chennai is relatively adverse to immigrating crowd. It doesn't accept you easily. On strictly comparative terms, Mumbai as a city accepts you instantly and I have heard this from 7 out 10 people, apart from experiencing it. I agree Mumbai and Chennai are two different cultures altogether, but in Chennai you'll have to blend in and then you'll start loving it, while Bombay is more spontaneous. I am still blending into Chennai. Hopefully I'll accept Chennai and Vise-e-versa.

About the hostel, its my first time. So, the feeling is nice. I love my room and my roomies are amazing. We have gelled in so well that the room is home. And I look forward to coming back. The other hostelites are fun too, some are giving me culture shocks though. But, yes as told by a friend , ACJ is a melting pot of cultures.

About the course, its strenuous but fun. My first two weeks went in learning about TV tools and techniques. I know how to use a camera and report from a place. After the first week we were given an assignment of going around the city to get news and report about it. Later we had to put all the news together and present a news show. So, a group of 17, was divided into three per group. So, my all girls group first went to Anna arivalayam ( DMK headquarters ) to report about a press meet that was to be held regarding the presidential polls. 


It was a life time experience. I was the only girl holding a camera in my hand and running through the crowd just to catch a glimpse of Karunanidhi and gain marks. The whole set of ministers who were siting in the hall found it amusing that a girl was holding a camera and shooting them. I loved it though. The next news was the launch of new jersey for the Indian cricket team. And yes, I saw the cricketers. The jersey was horrendous, it was neon green in colour. Still, for a first timer the experience of shooting a big politico and players of a cricket team is freaking awesome. The pre production work was tiring and the final shoot was good.


Apart from that, a truck load of happiness crashed into my door. And it felt amazing. Details coming soon. 


Otherwise, I have learnt to take things in my stride and move on.


Hoping for some more amazing experiences.