How I became a journalist….
How I became a journalist….
Rollback to 1995, Mumbai, India and life was damned different to what it is now. What with me sprawled here in my comfy office (pyjamas and all), sipping a glorious cup of tea, passing fleeting glances at the green, green grass and majestic tree tops outside my window…. This time back then (6 am, 6 days a week) I was waiting in a never-ending queue for my bus that I knew would be crammed with commuters mentally preparing for the train journey ahead.
Everyone hates travelling to work but in India travel equalled climbing Mount Everest in one day. Millions of us shuffled like mice crammed into a lab cage (only our trains had no doors); clinging on for dear life (because we were used to people falling our of the overcrowded trains), trying our best to avert our eyes from the poor children/men/women clinging on to our feet begging for money (simply because we had nothing to give) and finally 
reaching work with an overwhelming sense of exhaustion and relief.
Back then, the days were long.
I’d just completed my Economics degree whilst working part-time as PA to a Bollywood actress but it was a badly paid, dull job. Just for the record, no matter what they say, celebrity life is one long life sentence of superficiality and the end to privacy as you know it or want it. Besides, my parents were unemployed, we needed money and I needed a career.
I knew I wanted to write from a young age (from the age of 11) but in the absence of proper journalism schools/degrees at the time, the closest I could find was a post-graduate diploma in PR and Corporate Communications. The course didn’t meet my expectations but the people sure did. And amongst the dreamers, writers, philosophers and friends, I met a photojournalist for Rediff.com (India’s first online venture) who told me about a job that was going. Rediff had only just started up but was known for its cutting edge journalism so I grabbed the opportunity and pretty soon, I became a receptionist for them.
One day, all of our reporters were out and we’d just heard that a singer celebrity was filming around the corner… Being the only person in the office the editor walked up to me and here’s how the conversation went:
He said, “Do you want to cover the story?”
I said, “You’re completely mad, I’ve never covered anything in my life.”
He said, “What’ve you go to lose?”
I said, “Nothing I suppose.” (Thinking … only my reputation)
He said, “What’re you doing wasting time here then – get to it.”
The venue was teaming with security guards and all I can remember was praying like mad that – 1) I wouldn’t get thrown out on my butt and 2) have to walk back shamed-face to the office. I saw a troop of dancers sauntering in, adopted the same ‘I’m so cool, I belong’ pose and slipped in with them. 25 minutes later, I walked out with my interview, wrote the article and the piece ran that night.
The next day, I did the usual and collapsed at my receptionist’s desk when my editor walked up to me and said,
“What do you think you’re doing there?”
I said, “What do you think? Doing my job.”
He said, “No, you’re not! Get on that computer, you’re writing for me now.”
… You get the picture. The story had great response and people wanted more.
Your typical story of girl serves tea, girl gets opportunity to prove herself, girl becomes journalist and never looks back.
After working for Rediff for a few years, I went to work ELLE magazine (India) as a features writer then Associate Features Editor, also had my work published in The Times of India before coming to England and working for The Times Education Supplement, BT and now my own start up – The Writers’ Blog.
Life’s changed, my country’s changed, my job’s changed – but my calling remains the same.
Once a journalist, always a journalist.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=da8b7b55-ab78-4793-b6de-7801d8a23aa8)
9 Responses to How I became a journalist….
All that jazz – All in A Day
Review of: Cousin Alice Jazz Music by Cousin Alice: Elaine Sturgess Reviewed by: Elaine Sturgess Rating: 5 On January 21, 2012 Last modified: January 30, 2012 Summary: What makes Alice so distinctive is her wonderfully smokey voice, a quality that furniture designer William Yeoward found so arresting at a concert she was performing for the [...]
Fascinating story Bian – being in the right place at the right time can't be underestimated, but you needed talent for the opportunity to have paid off as it did. What an exciting story – I love it!
Twitter: evenbreak
I smiled as I read this, this is just so you!
Now, tell us more about that Bollywood actress, are they really demanding? do you have to peel their grapes?
Was it the working culture in India vastly different to the UK? or was the transition easy?
I was completely gripped, Bian – never mind the journalism, it sounds like you have enough material here for a novel. It would make a wonderful story
What, if anything would you say you miss about life and work in India (maybe two different issues), Bian?
Twitter: Linda_Mattacks
hi Linda – What I miss about life and India is the rawness of it all. The complete starkness of life that grips you by the heart and draws you to people/situations/causes. Everyday was different because we're surrounded by poverty as you don't see it here, we're surrounded by crime, social pressure, corruption – and so there's just no getting comfortably numb. I was a better writer back home because I lived other poeple's lives. I was a better person because I could change other people's lives – with just a smile and/or a conversation.
Thanks Ann.
You wouldn't believe the stories… for example how Robert Plant got lost and landed up below our office and I went on a 10 minute shopping spree/interview with him. Or the time Ben Kingsley came to our one room office and did a live chat ( back in 1995) …
Once I was suddenly contacted by Wired Magazine (and interviewed with my editor etc) and we were covered as breaking technology barriers when India celebrated 50 years of Independence.
I loved every minute of it … not just the celebrity bump-ins but the hard hitting journalism and the quality of work we produced. A book suddenly sounds like a great idea!
The Bollywood actress… I think that's a blog post don't you think Sarah? I will tell all then…
I didn't have to peel grapes but I had to read letters that were written in blood every week – and had to reply — that is much much worse!
Working culture is very very different to the UK. We work 6 sometimes 7 days a week. We leave at 6 am and return at 10 at night. Our colleagues are our mates and our family. The closer we grew the better the work produced… but it also had all the drama of East Enders, Emmerdale and Corrie combined… never a dull moment.
Thank you so much Jane. Yes, I think luck combined with hard work always pays off.
That's a great story. We sometimes underestimate the luck involved in our career success but never forget the hard work! It's the ability to work hard to reach a dream that helps us to do it again!