Forget all !

Tomorrow is a start of yet another beautiful year. During the past year there must have been sorrows, pain, disappointments, humiliation, loss, despair and a lot more. But, this is the time to forget all. Forget the sin, forget the mistakes. Let new relationships blossom, let their be happiness and fullfilment in the minds of all. Let this 2006 bring success, hope, peace and contentmentl. HAPPY NEW YEAR

some comparison

Now at home. Holidays with loads of assignments. A little away from the lousy town of Kottayam to the hurry, bustle Chennai. Chennai has its own distinct features. Unlike Delhi and Mumbai the city is said to be a little conservative. Beach, roadside dosa corners, idli , vada, jasmine,spencer, temples ,central and egmore all makes u have a good time to hang out and have fun. The city is lively and you will never be bored.
" Ennadima nanna irukiya?" asks a 'mami' in a nearby house in her local Brahmin dialect. The man who iron the clothes for the colony people gives me a friendly smile. Children playing in the roads happily comes and asks my arrival, my dog wags its tail continuously showing its love and affection. People here have a sense of warmth, friendliness and hospitality which makes you happy.
A day starts with the early morning "Suprabadam" of MS, filling the air with a devotional fervour. Mother gives a hot coffee with its strong aroma (besh besh romba nannnairuku!), and Suchitra with her hot, mesmerising voice says Good morning Chennai! in the 98.5 radio mirchi. I simply love Chennai!

Finally its over!!

Hurray!! I have finished my paper. Tiresome job for the past one week. Whole lot of responsibilities, tension, fear and all. Now everything is over. Just when I got the A3 printouts in hand, felt satisfied as a mother after her delivery. Sometimes hard work makes you happy. phoo.. now back home for a break.

A guy from The Hindu came yesterday for a lecture. Quite different from the boring guest lectures. Learnt a lot about writing offbeat stories. Was really useful.

Not again!

Yet another boring seminar this time made everybody tired and frustrated. This time it was on "Disability communication" at Kerala Press Academy, Kochi. The topic seemed interesting but the seminar concentrated mostly on medical terms, making it look like something scientific. As usual there was barely 30 people inside. Yawning and gossips were more frequent in the hall when the organisors spoke.
Apart from this the seminar had one interesting feature. It was on how the films and documentaries portrayed the "differently abled" people. A few shots of documentaries and movies such as "Anjali" and "Koshish" were shown which were based on these disabled people.
"There is exaggerative portrayal of people in the media," said a person from Brotherhood, a NGO based in Delhi which creates awareness among people about disabled people through their film documentaries.
The few points which he said,
1.Avoid portraying disabled people as objects. They should not be ridiculed.
2.Avoid sensationalising
3.Avoid showing them as super human
Overall it was an "okay" seminar.

Editor Madam

So, now assigned as the editor of our paper this week. Being an editor holds more resposibility and sincerity. Have to select stories given by the reporters, should assign pages for the sub-editors and make sure that the paper comes out well. Above all I have to run inside KTO's cabin getting bashing and hearing all the "damn", "hell" and "nonsense" from him.

But, this training helps you to handle pressure, teaches you how to work in a newspaper industry and how exactly a editor should behave. Apart from this there is a difficult job of writing your editorial for your paper. This will be a Christmas issue. We all are working extra to bring the paper earlier to enjoy few holidays. Planned to make the issue colourful with x-mas articles. Tiresome job, yet interesting! Let me hope for the best.

Death and loneliness

Loneliness is a worst thing that can happen in a person's life. Everybody need a companioship, another heart to love them and care them. Life without this love and care is null and void. This is what I felt when I met T N George Benjamin, a great person who has lived for decades long in town. This 94-year-old choir master was lying in the bed with a dull look in his eyes. Having lost most of his memory, he cried out of pain at times. "I have no one with me. My father, mother, brothers and sisters, wife and now its my turn. I have lived a long life, now its time for me to depart," he said in a low, feeble voice. Mr Benjamin is known for his excellent voice and his inclination towards music. Came out with a heavy heart and eyes filled with tears.
J.T, a friend of him also lives alone. His wife died few years ago and his children live abroad. "Every person in life should settle everything before his death, as you cannot predict when death would come. Now, I have settled everything and waiting for my another world. What else is left for me here?" he asked. I had no words to tell. Life sometimes is horrible. Living alone is a real crucifixion for any person. Even when you die you would like someone by your side to care and console. I remember a poem of Ed meek

He was so old his bones seemed to swim in his skin.
And when I took his hand to feel his pulse
I felt myself drawn in. It was as faint
as the steps of a child padding across the floor in slippers,
and yet he was smiling.
I could almost hear a river running beneath his breath.
The water clear and cold and deep.
He was ready and willing to wade on in.

The only thing I could do is to pray for Mr Benjamin's soul to rest in peace..

Journalism Ethics

Today, we had a discussion in class about sting operations, which is much important for a journalism student like me. Are the innate dishonesty in carrying out sting operations justifiable? Are the newspapers do it increase their sales or to expose criminal elements in the establishment? Do these criminal elements have to be exposed? These were the questions raised to us by our director KTO. Hot discussions went on for more than two hours. Quite interesting..so shocked when KTO asked me that whether I would sleep with minister C.. if he offers me hundred crore. Obviously, my answer was no.

KTO was clear in his statements. You cannot justify sting operations for compromising your norms and also, there is a limit for a wrong to expose. "If you are a watchguard of the society, you shouldn't be a dog to be watched," said he. Thats a KTO punch!

At last....

Was receiving anonymous calls for the past two days. Full of obscene messages:-( Finally, the person was traced and warned of disconnection. Shocked to hear that he found my number in some toilet??!! At last...he called me begging his pardon. cool na..
Hmm.. wondering the vulgarity in the minds of the people. what makes them do so? Is that some kind of fun or a cruel satisfaction inside? Should do a research.

My first post

My first post in the blog. Little bit nervous. But, happy that I could share something worth. Preparing myself slowly to become a great journalist. Our director TO has asked us to write and practice at least 50 words a day. So, get, set and go.....