A Stranger with a Smile

I sat behind the wheel
Driving on, looking at the road but not really seeing...
Thinking of the hurt, feeling the pain, tears rolling down my cheeks
And then he came
Overtook me with great speed
Looked into his rearview with a smirk on his face
and then he saw my tears...
His expression changed
In a fraction of a second he apologised and that did it...
It made me smile!
-M.

Brilliant News

Here's some great news...our organisation now has an alliance with a certain well-reputed American organisation. Yes, I know you want to know the name but I don't think I should indulge in that! Anyhow, the good thing is that we get to share their resources and training systems and technology. We also get access to world-class footage of places where we normally can't keep correspondents. The best part about the deal is that they have no hand in our editorial or managerial policies! Rumours are that competitors were vying for the same deal. Apparently, the Americans are quite astounded by our facilities and the progress we've made over the last few weeks.
So, we were all pretty elated in office and had awesome black forest cake for celebration:)
The sad part is that we still don't get paid in dollars:( {Asking for too much, eh?}
Look forward to updating you more on this...after all, the journey has just begun.
Ciao,
M.

Of Love and Hate

"Love and hate don't cancel out each other. It's possible for them to co-exist and drive you mad."
-Erich Segal (Man, Woman and Child)
I really like the line....meaning, you can love and hate the same person for different reasons...both extremely strong emotions and I guess it would be maddening to love and hate someone. Strange situation, don't you think?

A long weekend!

I had a 3-day weekend...good fun:)
On thursday afternoon we were told we could have the next 3 days off. So I just called up mom dad and asked them to take me home...seriously, there's no place like home. I went back after a week and felt so good:)
On friday, I just lazed around, watched tv, surfed the net and talked on the phone.
Then on saturday, I met up Toni and Ruchi for lunch and it was good fun. We met up in Subroto Park and Ruch and I took a walk before Toni reached and it felt like hostel days. Then we proceeded to Priya's for lunch...had chinese at YO CHINA...my dish was fine but Ruch wasn't too happy with hers...Toni was thrilled about the babycorn and the mushrooms! After that, we went to Lajpat thinking we'll shop at Sabhyata and it turned out that a sale was on there but sadly, none of us liked anything! We then proceeded to Westside and no, I did not buy anything this week! For the last 3 consecutive weeks, I have been shopping from Westside...don't you think they should give me a discount?? Anyhow, Ruchi bought a cute purple top and then Toni had to leave. That night we also had a party at Akash Mess - Jaggi uncle had invited us...the food was yummmmmmmmmm...Ruch was also invited so basically both of us chatted more! Shalu was also supposed to come but she wasn't feeling too well.
Then on sunday, we went for satsang and I just lazed around for the rest of the day. Today morning dad dropped me back and I'm in NOIDA for the rest of the week.
More later...
Ciao,
M.

Work updates

So, I've completed a month at work. Got my first paycheck:)
It's been very good so far. Over the past 3 weeks, we were trained in camera shooting, editing and writing & reporting. The next 2 weeks will be production and news gathering. Well, it isn't really new to me but yes, I haven't handled the Sony PD 170 before, so it was new in that sense. But the basic functions are the same in all cameras.
The faculty is great -all very experienced and the best part is that they all have an amazing sense of humour.Working at IBN is a pleasure. We saw a promo of the channel yesterday...looked very cool. I genuinely liked it. I'd also seen the channel logo and heard the music a few days back. The logo looked fine but I didn't find the music very catchy. I hope they get it redone.
During camera training we went out shooting to India Gate and to Old Delhi (Jama Masjid & Chandini Chowk)...it was great fun:) At the risk of sounding immodest, let me just say that I shot some good stuff that got universal appreciation:) It was awesome to get my hands back on the camera. I just loooooooooooooove to shoot!!!
My gym sessions got done a while ago and now I'm back to aerobics with Finesse. So, basically I just run from office to aerobics class and reach back home by 8:00p.m. I have to look for PGs in NOIDA as well...guess office should be shifting by this month end or first week of october!!!Ok, ciao for now...will write more later!
Love,
M.

Bhai from Belgium

Bhai is back after his 45-day trip to Belgium. He was here for a day - on his way back to Pune. Yes yes, I got lotsa stuff. He got me a Sony Digicam, a swatch watch, key chains, junk jewellery, cell phone accessories, a top, a scarf and chocolates of course! So cute na?
Then he got mom her favourite perfume (Nina Ricci) & a swarovski pendant...and shirts and a jacket for dad, a watch for naani and an i-pod for himself....and yes tons of chocolates for tons of people!!! Cool, huh?
Naani, mamu etc. came to meet him yesterday and so did Bhalla uncle & family. We all just chilled out and had a good time:) Now bhai is back in Pune.
Ciao,
M.

Surprise surprise

I had a great day today:)
It's Ankur's birthday and I gave him a surprise. I landed up at his place at 9:00 in the morning! He of course had no idea that I would turn up! What fun na? He opened the door and was like-"You're mad! Totally mad!!!!" Hehehehe:)
We just chilled out at his place then went & bought his cake (yummy chocolate truffle)...I of course insisted on buying candles and did manage to get my way (after arguing with him for a while). Then we waited for Medha and cut the cake as soon as she came. Then I ran to office. Had a staff meeting at 2:00p.m. This is my last 3-day weekend for a long time to come. Full fledged training begins on monday. I'm looking forward to it!
Ciao,M.

Working woman

I had the orientation of my first job at Hotel Intercontinental yesterday. It was nice...heard all about the channel and got to listen to very inspiring stuff....followed by a five star lunch;) and then the filling up of the gazillion forms. Isn't it weird that on your first day of work you're sitting and deciding who gets the money you earned in case you die...a bit of a damper!
Then we had our first day of the familiarisation process today. We had lectures by a reputed American media person. He's very good and fun too. It just turned out that during our BBC training, Amanda has already taught us every single thing that he spoke of. Felt good to already know stuff!!! Even the software they'll be using is a high end version of the one we had at college. So, I'm quite elated about it. Today was all in all simply deja vu', ACJ revisited! Just mailed Amanda thanking her for all that she taught us and updating her on the day's events.
Ok, that's about it. Working tires you out man...but so far, I love it:)
Ciao,
M.

Employed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Helllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooo Bloggie:):):):):)
It's a happy happy day:):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Ok, let me tell you all about my day. I went for the workout in the morning. It was good as usual. Then I was supposed to meet Ankur at Satyam Janakplace for 'Bunty aur Babli' at 11a.m. But when I was driving back from my aerobics class, he called to say that the first show begins at 11, which meant I had to reach earlier and so I rushed home, got ready, had breakfast and drove to district centre. Lost my way and reached half an hour late. Poor thing had to wait!!! Anyway, I did manage to reach before the movie. Then there was massive security checking at Satyam 'coz of the recent bomb blasts. Anyhow, we saw the movie and it was AWESOME...I loved it..died laughing!

Throughout the movie, my phone had been on 'discreet' and for some reason the vibrator didn't work so I didnt know I was getting calls. After the movie, I looked at the phone and saw 13 missed calls. At that moment, mom called and said that Broadcast News people were looking for me...they'd called up home also. So I called them up and they asked me to come and collect my offer letter. They also asked me to get a copy of my CV. So Ankur and I found a cyber cafe in district centre and took a printout of my CV. Then we drove to my to-be office and I got my offer letter. So, I'm employed w.e.f. August 1, 2005 at the output desk of a reputed channel. Cool huh?:) The package is the same as my CNBC Mumbai friends! So, basically I was quite excited about the whole thing. Told Ruchi and she did her networking and within 5 minutes, I got calls from Bhau and Toni!! Posted a message on the college yahoogroup and got calls, mails, messages!

Went for dinner to DSOI 'coz it was mom's buaji's 80th birthday. Had a good time talking to Saloni and Anuj bhaiya (and yummy cake). So, this is it for now. I have an extended vacation till 1st August but no more tension. Plan to workout and do stuff like painting and things that I might not be able to do once work begins! That's all for now bloggie. More later....ciao:)
-M:)

Convo updates...

Well, long time no posts. Ummm...where do I begin? Ok, I managed to go to Chennai for the convocation. HT gave me two days off. I was there for less than a day....flew down on 3rd morning..reached around afternoon, attended the convocation in the evening and flew back early next morning. Emminent Pakistani journalist and editor-in-chief of The Friday Times & Daily Times, Najam Sethi was the chief guest. He delivered the convocation address on 'The Role of the News Media in Indo-Pak Conflict and Detente.'Got a copy of the address as well as the Convocation issue of 'THE WORD'.

Ram was of course student of the year (no surprise there)...also got the award for the best dissertation and stuff...too cool. I got the 'Dean's Prize for Outstanding Performance in Photojournalism'. There was a tie between Meenakshi and me.It was really good to meet everyone again and finally said goodbyes this time. Many people are in Delhi so it's good. Ram and I were on the same flight to Delhi and Piyu was on another flight but at the same time...met her on the Delhi and Chennai airports. Then, met Sam on the Delhi airport as he'd come to receive her.

Other than that, internship with Headlines Today carried on till 14th May. After that, I gave their written test. Papers are yet to be corrected and then they might call for an interview. Let's see...!!!
-M.

Random stuff...

Hello Bloggie..
Yeah yeah, I know I've been away...just got caught up with work and stuff. Ok, I don't feel like talking about work right now 'coz I've been posting all that stuff regularly on the college yahoogroup and I'm too lazy to repeat all of it again. The latest is that my name was announced on National television for the first time today! I've done the same stuff earlier as well but didn't credit for it - too long a story to tell...anyhow, did a story on the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war and the voice over girl (yes they have strange things here) signed off as "With Mridu Bhandari......blah blah...Headlines Today".
Other than that, I'm off to the convocation on 3rd...can't wait to attend it...good that I get another chance to say goodbye to people 'coz I couldn't meet all of them before leaving. I'll be back on the 4th. Might be working the night shift after that. Let's see! Okie, cya then - pray I meet Ruchi and Toni tomorrow. Our plans seem to be jinxed! Ciao.
-M:)

Do I?

Do I tell you that I need you?
Or do I wait till you realise?
Do I ask you if you need me?
Or do I simply say Goodbye?
Am I crazy that I love you?
Am I mad I even try?
Do I hold back my tears or just let go and cry?
Can I find all the answers?
Is there any way at all?
Will you be by my side or am I left alone to fall?
-M.

The joys and blues of being home

It's simply great to be back home and in Delhi. I loooove the city. Well, I landed up on the 11th. Came with Shivi by Rajdhani..man do those people make you eat or what? We board the train at 6 a.m. and soon we get toffees followed by tea/coffee. Then comes breakfast accompanied by another cup of tea/coffee. Three hours later, we get soup with soup-sticks. Then lunch followed by ice-cream. Then a break of 2 hours and then snacks with juice. Another break of 3 hours and then 'Rassam' followed by dinner and then ice-cream again!Man, they kill you with food. The worst part is that they don't let you sleep. I mean, they shake you and wake you and make you eat! So, it's a paradise for those who like eating more than sleeping but for us sleep-deprived souls, it was a bit of a pain - except that it covers the distance in a much shorter span of time than Tamil Nadu Express or GT.
Anyhow, mom came to the station and Ruchi too. Sadly, Ruchi landed up on the New Delhi station while I got off at Nizamuddin...felt really bad for the child...poor thing...anyways, we met up at Khan market then and went home. Spent the day chatting away to glory.
I divide my day between the television, the telephone, the internet and meeting up with friends. Met up with Ankur today...he came home. Was good fun. We had a lot to catch up on.
I'm looking forward to starting off with internship day after tomorrow. There's too much time at my disposal - not used to this!
I'm loving being home but am missing college as well. I miss working late in the studio, the mdf, playing pacman in lab 2 (it's not so much fun to play it at home), working like mad, the idli-anna, vadas at Grand, our dog: Floppy, all the people...friends, teachers - especially Nishat sir...college was great. I can happily say that it was one of the best years of my life:)
Well, the college yahoo group has suddenly come alive....i open my mailbox and find 48 new mails!!!! Everyone seems to have a lot to say now that we've left - it's good to hear from all! Ok, that's all for now. Ciao.
-M:)

An all-nighter

I was very upbeat and in the mood to work yesterday (I'm always in a mood to work but more so yesterday). So we spent all day (and night) doing our Investigative Project. Went home at 4:00 a.m. today. I actually wanted to put in another 2 hours and finish it off but Meenakshi wanted to go home. We'll just work a bit on the music in the evening and that's it. I think the film is looking pretty good. I've been running around getting my No Dues certificate done. Just have to return the locker keys now. Will do that in the evening so I don't have to carry the stuff around till then. I'll miss college. It's been great fun. I loved my course and college and everything about it - friends, teachers, non-teaching staff - just everyone. It's really been a great year. Hmmm...feeling a bit bad about leaving now...but very excited to return to Delhi as well. Guess I should work on my business assignment now. Catch you later bloggie. Ciao.
-M.

Road block

The Santhome High road has been blocked for 2 days now. It ain't fair. Apparently, some building had fallen somewhere in Santhome (that's what I heard)...as a result, we're not allowed to drive there. Well, it's been 2 days now and the rubble ought to have been removed. The diversion is a pain 'coz one has to drive through the Srinivaspuram slum that has a strong smell of fish all the time. Women of the fishing community sit on the pavement, selling their husbands' catch. Besides, the road is not too broad and everything from ONYX trucks to buses to cars and two-wheelers have to drive there.
The only plus point is that I get to drive close to the sea. I absolutely looooooooooove the sea. This is the only road so close to the sea. So, the view is great. But then, it's also a distraction 'coz I'm tempted to look at the waves while driving and it's not really safe to do that considering the breadth of the road and the number of vehicles on it. I only wish the stench of fish were missing! Anyhow, I hope the Santhome High road is cleared by today evening and I don't have to take the detour anymore. Ciao.
-M.

Railway officials: a PAIN!

Government officials...ok railway officials in particular - they get on my nerves!We're doing our investigative project on the beggar syndicate in Chennai. People from rehab centres told us to take a train ride from Beach station to Tambaram. So we went over to the Assistant PRO of railways..the guy is first of all pissed that our college comes every other week to do some or the other story(well...if railways are in the news, aren't we gonna cover it? Duh!). Anyhow, then he says that his boss is outta town so he cannot permit us. Now come on, the Chief PRO isn't required for these little things. This guy has signed letters for us before. After a lot of pleading (and abusing in the mind), he still doesn't relent and tells us to come the following day.
So Meenakshi lands up the next morning and some other arbit guy screams at her again 'coz ACJ is foever doing railway stories. The thing is that since there are three streams so i guess a number of people must be coming. The man yells his lungs out and asks her to call at 3p.m. and make some college authority talk to him. So, that's day 2 wasted! Anyways, we asked Nishat sir to call and obviously he had to give us permission after that 'coz Sir smartly took N.Ram and Shashikumar's names;) The PRO wouldn't wanna spoil relations now, would he?
So we land up yet again at the PRO's office and this time straight to the Chief PRO. He gives us permission - only for non peak hours and then asks us yet again, why so many people do railway stories...and we explain that each time the issue is different. Obviously, we didn't tell him that we want beggars on the train. Are u mad? He'd have thrown us outta his office. So he asks his PA to type out a letter and asks us to wait outside. I tell Meenakshi-"This guy was sweet, unlike his junior staff".
The painfully slow PA takes half an hour to just change the names and timings on a standard letter for this purpose. In doing so, he doesn't fail to tell us that the last time we came was on 7th March and that that time also Meenakshi had come (with Sam). Anyhow, he finishes the letter and goes inside the CPRO's office to get it signed. Comes out a minute later, minus the letter! We wonder - "why the hell could he not stand there and just get the letter back?"
We wait..and wait...and wait more. I take back the compliment about him being a sweet guy! He just had to sign the damn letter after all. After another half an hour, the CPRO calls him inside and sends the letter with him! Finally, we have permission! Quite a painful affair (to say the least). Guess the college should invite him over for the convocation or something so he's helpful with the next batch!
Anyhow,that's that.
I have dumped all my BBC stories on to a VHS to take home. Yet to dump the Kudremukh documentary. We got the highest marks in that. There were 8 films in all.
There's a debate on Global Warming in Monday's science class followed by a Pizza party as we're all leaving next week. I'll have to write a report on the debate. Then theres the Enron assignment that I have to do for the business elective. Other than that, I'm done with almost everything barring the IP of course. Just have to stick on the snaps of the last photojournalism assignment. It's on Ritchie Street. Am done with the other two on Mahabalipuram and the Trade Fair.
Spoke to Ankur last night and got April fooled. Then spoke to Bhau and apparently Toni April fooled her! So, I'm not the only one:)
Monday night there's a party at the Cricket Club. It's a farewell from the chairman. I hope I'm able to come back for the convocation. Highly unlikely though!:(
Guess that's about all for now. Will keep you posted bloggie.Ciao.
-M.

In the studio, after the last show of NEWSBEAT!!! 

Amanda's Party! 

End of BBC...

The BBC course got over day before yesterday. Got our certificates or 'bits of paper' as Amanda calls them. She also wrote personal notes to all of us. Sweet of her to do that. I secured a 75% which is good (not great - just good). Piyu got the highest - 78%. We had a photo session in the studio after the last show.
Then last night, we had a party at Amanda's place. Had a nice time. After that we went to 'Sparks' thinking we'll dance but the place was quite dead. They were to have 'Hip hop Nite' from 11:30p.m. but that would mean waiting for an hour and in addition, there were cover charges for men. So then we decided to go to 'Bikes n barrels'. It was nice and lively there (unlike sparks)...so danced a lot...mostly good music too...danced till 12:15-12:30am...then it was shut down time...all pubs and discs in Chennai shut by then ever since the Stephanie case. All in all it was a fun evening.
Don't feel like it's holi today...probably only the second time when I'm not playing...otherwise I just looooooooove the festival. Let's hope next year is better. Ok, I should be finishing my article on supernovae now. Ciao.
-M:)

Dissertation Done!!!!

:) :) :) :) :)
My dissertation is done! Wow! It's a wonderful feeling. I remember reading the college prospectus before joining ACJ and wondering -"If I get into this college, how the hell will I write a dissertation?"
But I enjoyed doing my dissertation...it's called -"The Bulletin Boom: The growth of television news channels in India". I had fun researching it and believe it or not I managed to write more than 6000 words on it (that seemed slightly impossible to me at the beginning!)
Anyhow, right now I'm overwhelmed by a sense of joblessness...so I'm chatting and blogging and doing all the forbidden things. This week we'll finish off with the BBC course and then we'll just have to work on the Investigative Project. Then there'll be that test in the Business elective and the global warming debate in the science elective and there's also that photojournalism assignment that's to be done...bah..so much for feeling jobless! Got a call from Ruby last night - a junior from hostel..asking me for tips to get into ACJ..HAHA! For some reason it really amused me:) The new prospectus is out and I like it better (not just for the fact that it has a lot of my snaps!) because the colour scheme is more appealing in my opinion. Ok, I wanna eat now..haven't eaten all morning 'coz of the dissertation. Ciao!
-M:)