interesting insight interning tale!

I was awake all night. The anticipation and excitement of the next day didn't let me sleep. It was my first day at Hindustan Times. I mean The Hindustan Times. What would I wear, What would I do all day, How would I talk to the editor,what if I get a doting mentor..and I thought counting stars was a better option than thinking about it.

Morning came. "Wake up guddu", said mom. "Its your first day and you don't have to be late". Her voice gave a thump to my heart. Lazily I woke up but mentally everything was running fast. I stood in front of my almirah. Red, green or black. I look slim in black I thought. No, but red makes me confident. Finally I wore a kurti and jeans. It gave me a journalist look. I normally don't carry my specs but I remember reading in a  newspaper that wearing specs in office gives you a serious look.. So, here I was aiming to be the next editor of Ht. Big dreams!

The building was magnificent. Again the feeling of nervousness took over me. People moving here and there with suits and ties. Shit, I looked so casual. The aspiring editor feeling punctured back to a mere intern.

I took the stairs and reached the editor's office. The guard told me to wait. I sat on the red couch setting my hair and wiping the signs of nervousness from my face. Finally, this is it. I'm interning in this big,palatial office. In coming years I'll be the editor and all these people will salute me. I'll make my office colorful and lively. 

I'll...

"Come in Sanchi", said Mr. Mahapatra, bursting my dream bubble. "Hello sir", I sounded too confident. "I mean good morning". 

10 mins later I was shown my desk. It had a Dell computer and a phone. Hindustan times site was opened and I had to view it letter by letter. I read for the 1st 15mins trying to focus as hard as I could. After another 20 mins I gave up. I wanted a coffee.

The coffee machine was 10 steps away. It has cardamom tea,hot coffee, normal tea,hot water. I pressed for hot coffee and came to my desk sipping it. I again started going through the site reading blogs of eminent people. I could never write that well.

Drinking the last sip, I threw the glass and stretched my back. I was tired. I gazed here and there. People meditating on their computers, discussing and talking. Tension lines on their foreheads. I'll be the same in upcoming years. They say media line is fast but it was becoming difficult for me to pass my time, the clock refused to move.

During this time I was introduced to other 3 interns who would be working with me on the same project. We were expected to become eyes and ears of  Noida. 

Mr.Mahapatra informed about a meeting with the media head Mr. Vijay Thapa and him.

We had time and I was hungry. I decided to head to the canteen. 

It was a nice,cosy place with every food item you name. I ordered for a bhelpuri and took a table. What would I say in the meeting I thought. What if I fumbled in front of everybody. 

A thin looking man came to the table with tempting bhelpuri. My hunger grew a hundred times. 

I gobbled it up and ran to the desk. Ready for the meeting.

The conference room was a very professionally setup place with a big brown table and chairs around it. It was a well lit room and 2 chairs were preoccupied already- Mahapatra and Thapa. We took our chairs and the meeting started. 

After half n hour, it was decided that I would cater to the children of Noida, their schools,activities,education and special education.My friend Sahana decided to opt for social life of the people of Noida. Radhika wanted to write on civic amenities in Noida and less privileged people there. 

The other interns too picked their interests and the meeting came to an end. The bosses were very open to ideas and offered healthy tips and suggestions. 

Finally the day came to an end at 3 pm. We all strode out of the conference room to the exit gates talking and discussing about how to begin. Numbers were exchanged and they were no more the other students from some other college. 

I walked towards the Barakhamba metro station, lost in thoughts. I wanted to become a singer till I was 13. Then a teacher till 21. And since morning, I had a new goal - an editor at H.t. I mean THE H.T..

Corruption here n there..

Fresh scams are reserving the first page of every newspaper. Be it about A.Raja, Cwg or the latest Karnataka land scam. 

The venom of corruption is spreading at such a fast rate that somewhere we all have become immune to it. Somewhere we have stopped expecting a yeoman job from our politicians. We know what they're all about..

This morning while reading the newspaper, a picture caught my eye. It was about the infamous Lakshmi nagar building that crumbled like a pack of cards on Monday evening. A boy of about 7 howled in grief on his father's death, who got crushed under the rubble. At such a tender age, he performed the cremation rites of his father. Not only his father but so many innocent people lost their lives. And the reason for the loss was again 'corruption'

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2010/11/18/ArticleHtmls/Killer-building-made-from-junk-18112010001025.shtml?Mode=1  

21 families wait to see the bodies of their loved ones so that they can ensure a decent burial. That couldn't be pathetic. The builder might have used A- grade material for his own house, but when it comes to public welfare, who cares a damn!

The people who are making headlines today will continue to be in rubble for god knows how many days.

And we the people will eventually forget it too as we have bigger news coming up. Pamela Anderson in Bigg Boss house and Ranbir Kapoor admitting his multiple affairs. That is what we care about..don't we?

MMS.

The great minds have invented MMS services in our cell phones so that sophisticated people like us can send videos, exchange pictures. It is one of the best messaging technology till date.
But some people here have raised doubts in our minds about this invention. Is it a boon or a bane?
How are we using it? Is this the way it is to be used?
Numerous MMS scandals have come to light. Videos of private moments of people have been captured and forwarded to many. Be it the Ashmit-Riya Sen story or the unforgotten D.p.s scandal, they have done nothing except defame.
Who is to be blamed? The people misusing the technology or the technology which tempts several weak minds?
Another case came to light which forced a girl to commit suicide. The person with whom she got intimate made her MMS and leaked it.
http://news.in.msn.com/crimefile/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4519825


This isn't the first of such kind. Many girls have ended their lives with the fear of their image getting distorted  or their family's image ending in smoke. How often have we heard a boy ending his life after his MMS got leaked.
Think..

With you, For you, always

You have any trouble, dial 100. You see injustice, dial 100. And what if the troublemakers and rule breakers are  on the other side of the receiver?

We have known police vallas as corruption kings. They have always been known for looting a poor man's pocket and filling their own. But this fresh case of a Delhi police constable stabbing his own son makes him an opposite to his duties. The man who jails people involved in wife beating, domestic violence and crimes against women and children is himself breeding the crime in the 4 walls of his house.

How great is that? His khaki has easily hidden the demon inside him.

Have a look

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/delhi-police-constable-stabs-15-year-old-son-38373

The reason for the crime is that he suspects his wife of infidelity. So he thinks that beating is an easy solution. I beg to ask, can a woman get the same liberty of lashing  if she discovers her husband cheating on her. She'll cry, yell, divorce or maybe continue her broken marriage. Who has given this liberty to men to raise a hand at their wives then? Here's a survey on infidelity.

http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/HEALTH/PROJECTS/LoveLustLoyalty/LoveLustChart1_1p.gif

In my opinion, every individual has the right to be respected. We as human beings differ from animals as we live in a societal framework of rules. By committing these crimes, we are killing the difference. 

Polluting the Environment for Something that's Gone

BANG BANG BANG!
That is when I know that Raavan is burnt and Ram wins.What a glorious way to celebrate victory!In Ram's victory hundreds other inhale unlimited pollution and expose their ears to unimaginable sound.Ram wins but we lose!I remember how my dad used to take me out and explain me the story of Ramayana with full enthusiasm.I remember how he used to pick me up in his arms and show me the crumbling Raavan into ashes.Loudspeakers glared narrating this saga and people used to listen and view with that shining looks on their face as if its something they haven't seen before, whereas the reality is that they have been coming to see it ever since they were children.I was thinking the other day about the villages which are still inaccessible to light.Where stillness and darkness continue to rule.

And here we are, 'the elite class', which wastes I don't know how many watts of electricity lighting up the whole area for this festival.

Is it justice?

Is that what we call the victory of good over evil?

When we enter a store to buy a firecracker how often does it strike our mind that we are burning a note?

Think of the destitutes whom we shoo away and here we are taking money out of our pockets without thinking for a second that it'll be turned into nothing but ash.There are many young minds who instead of studying are employed in these firework factories.They use their little hands not to turn a page of a book but to make a cracker.

What is this festival giving us?

Just because of an age old custom it is going on and on.Here I don't wish to offend my culture but I mean to throw light on the fact that such victory is of no use which gives us endless health problems.

Control that anger before it controls you.

Anger..all of us have a committed relationship with it. Our sibling does something which annoys us, we get angry. If we aren't permitted to go out with friends, we bang the door, yell at our highest pitch. We completely lose our cool at trivial matters. That is what happened with this restaurant manager.

In Chandigarh a 22 year old man was thrown into a boiling tandoor by his owner. And ask him why, he'll come up with a solid reason that his employee used to steal. 

.http://news.in.msn.com/crimefile/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4444636

Anger has made us devils. We transform into beastly creatures. Have we ever thought what is the reason for this increasing anger among people? We have transformed into zero tolerant zones and its so easy to flare us up. Throughout our life our parents teach us to be calm and patient and forgiving. But..all lessons forgotten.

Sometimes we hear about acid attacks on girls, many a times we hear people shooting anyone on road due to a minor tiff, also cases of rape are omnipresent.

And then we call ourselves sophisticated souls. 

What should be done to control this anger?

In my mother's  opinion we should meditate, join yoga and pray.If it would've been  such an easy solution this innocent employee would've been saved.

In my opinion, no meditation works until you want to control your violent streak. After all, its your anger and You have to take a control over it. Anger is just another emotion like sadness and happiness. It's perfectly Ok to be angry but then its important to release it in the right way. We mustn't forget our societal rules in that 5 min rage. 

Go through this if you too aren't able to control your anger. I hope it works!

http://www.apa.org/topics/anger/help.aspx

Dark side

Couldn't be worse. A minor girl of 12 was raped in a school in Kanpur. The complaint was filed by the girl's mother when she heard about her daughter being dropped at home by 2 maids from the school.
http://english.samaylive.com/regional/uttar-pradesh/676474534.html
It urges me to think how safe our educational institutions are. Parents send their children to school so that they come out as better and successful human beings. But how would that mother be feeling when she saw the dead body of her little child. Who should be blamed? Is it only the rapist? We've always been taught that a person who supports the wrong doer is equally wrong. By that theory, the principal,staff and other teachers should be arrested, but unfortunately no arrests have been made.
This isn't the first and last case of the type. Many school girls who haven't even attained puberty have been raped. The families bury the case as its a matter of shame for them. Many such cases don't come to light even after repeated complaints at the police station. I beg to ask that if such a case happens with a daughter or sister of a family who has 'Birla', 'Tata' attached to it, then also no arrests would be made? This time we have to give it a thought..
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HD/2010/10/06/index.shtml