Next stop Bengaluru:IIJNM has been Rakafied!!

This has to be one of the happiest day of my life. Everyone grows up learning to dream dreams, then as we grow up we realize that making dreams come true is not a mean feat, you face disappointment, hurdles in life; many are not fortunate enough to get their dreams to blossom but i must among the chosen few to see my dreams come true. Ever since i can remember, way back in Class 5, i wrote an essay on'My ambition in life' and my teacher really applauded me for writing a profession that not many knew:journalism. and since then the dream has lived on.. and today is the day when my childhood dream has become my reality

I have got through in IIJNM, Bangalore, in Television Journalism

This morning a parcel arrived, which is like a routine thing these days with so many colleges i had applied to, constantly brochures and admit card keeps pouring in, so i didn't make anything of it when i gently cut the envelope and took the brochure out, i thought it must be the admit card of this college for which i have an exam next week..but voila reading the letter i thought i was reading all wrong...but hey the letter was from IIJNM telling me i got through.. it was one 'Oscar winning moment for me.. i couldn't believe that i had actually gotten through... im still reading and re-reading the letter even now.. and it hasnt sunk in yet that i really have gotten through :)

Last Thursday i got a call from IIJNM stating that i have a telephonic interview the very next day.. my semesters were on and i was under immense pressure with semesters and then entrances.. the Alchemist here was Mayank who really calmed me down and made me go through a mock interview and really helped tons and tons to boost my confidence..the interview went at 11 and then at 3.20 i get a call from them to sit for an entrance test.. i was ready to collapse just when i thought i could relax and study for the next day..i had to write a test, that too out of the blue with no preparation somehow i managed to go to a cyber cafe.. and amidst yells and screams from some fellows who were playing FIFA.. and it was raining cats and dogs and i had a 15 min exams which squeezed every bit out of me...when the ordeal ended i just collapsed ... i don't know how i managed to study for the next day but i know i just did... really it was hectic and now... 7 days to the date... here i am ... all my worries about my future put to rest..and i am at peace...what with no re-applying in JU, many said i was taking a major risk that i may end up doing nothing..but i am glad the gamble paid off.. now maybe its time to change the 'about me' column on my blog.. :)

The people who were really instrumental in my success is first and foremost Harshita.. who never made me loose faith and belief in my abilities ..there was a time i was wondering if i would be able to apply in any of the colleges..but she had faith i would apply and get through...then Shubhankar without whom IIJNM would have been a lost dream...he guided me through all my admission procedures..reminding me of the formalities, telling me what to study and in turn encouraging me to delivering my best, not just that he ensured that that essay i had sent with my application was the best they could find..for that i will be forever grateful to him..Mayank who took time out of his busy schedule and mentored me... his contribution in a way paved way for my achievement today...he had faith on me and made me have faith on myself.. Thank you guys for being my pillar's of support .. for being there when i needed the most... 

the feelings running through my mind at the moment are happiness, relief and immense gratitude.. i am glad i could keep the honour of my words to all those to whom i had emphatically said that 'i would leave' and that ' i would someday show them that i had it in me to prove myself' thank you god for reaffirming to me that i am not ordinary that i can do anything i set my mind to. that i am cut out for a bigger role. thank you for thinking i deserve this opportunity. i am humbled and grateful. i wish now i can hold my head high up and live life on my terms.  be with me and trust me i will never let you down. i know to make my dreams come true i have two beautiful people, ma and baba who are doing their utmost for me, it is a huge risk, let me never ever to let them down, be with me as i set forth to do what i am chosen to do and do them proud. thank you god for thinking me worthy of this oppertunity...i am humbled and grateful to you...

P.S- So sorry for the long long post.. its just that i am happy and relieved...

Graduate... Almost!

Its OVER!! Finally my college life comes to an End!

What struck me while writing the last few lines of my paper was.. soon my exams will come to an end... what hadn't yet registered on my mind was that with the end of my exams.. my college life too came to an end.. not that i am very sentimental about leaving college and friends but still there was a sense of deja vu... and the worst part is i realized it once it was all over...

You it always happens.. in this rat race of life.. where almost every moment symbolizes a struggle to survive, where the fittest survives...we always focus on the goal, like.. the college we want to get in..or the job we want etc but we are surprised when one day reach the goal... maybe that is what has happened to me.. i have been focusing on getting out of college that i forget the moment has come and gone by.. but in a way its good because if i had put too much thought into it maybe i would have been distracted during my exams.. in times of extreme tension when i feel like giving up this particular poem called If  by Rudyard Kipling... gives me immense courage and strength to go on... the lines that i so love are ..

"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!"

One of the highlights of today was.. that my last day at JU as a student and as well as my last day of college life was spent sitting side by side the one person i began my college life with in the same room it had all begun.. Shubhankar is such a moron i tell you.. he is this weird sort of a guy..despite being my good friend he never feels an urge to sit by me.. if i drag him [which i do most of the time] he does but if he is left to his own devices then he sits where ever or whoever catches his fancy..damn him! and you can imagine my surprise when he came over to me and filled in the vacant seat right next to me.. and gave me a look? as if to say.. "what??! i felt like sitting here don't make it a big deal now!" damn the moron!! and double damn him.. he is partially challenged in  hearing and dint get what i was asking him in the examination hall and when he got what i asked him.. he didn't have a clue... and the super moron gets all senti only after hours of coming back home... and when i was around or rather when i was willing to be around he was busy trying to get me home and get back to doing some work!! pond scum... but having said and done.. Shubhankar has been an absolute gift to me.. someone i always relied on and never got disappointed..whether it is ripping off his notes for me.. or literally dictating me my assignment.. or patiently repeating and re-repeating his explanations .. or being extremely patient with me when i give him the look "i don't know what the hell you are saying..???"..and now that college has come to an end.. I'm really going to miss him telling me everyday "you really are looking hot.." or "three years has gone by and we still havent done it.. lets do it" and id surprise him each time by saying "yea lets... but lets find a vacant room for doing or do you wanna do it here"... i don't know where we will be placed in life.. im sure he will have a bright future... he is bound too..morons have all the luck :)  but no matter what he will surely be the godfather to my kids!! 

The thoughts that are coursing through my mind at the moment is that of relief and a sense of timelessness reigns.. i cant belive that not only my exams, my college life has come to an end.. i feel all grown up as if i have scale mount Everest! God! when I was a little girl, i couldn't imagine studying beyond Class 12 but then when i was in Class 12 i couldn't think beyond graduation here i am at the threshold of Graduation and i desire to further my education.. with my student clearing her  class 10.. i feel its like yesterday i was where she is now but that was something that happened almost 5 years to this day! :O i wonder where did these days go?! Yes yes i am all overwhelmed with this sudden transition but then i love this feeling when despite knowing the truth the truth yet hasn't sunk in!! anyway this is it.. this post is a fitting end to my college life!

  ~The End~

P.S- To see the pictures of the last few days of my college life..check orkut...search me out with Phoenix. ... i will update my photoblog soon and the pictures will be up there too :)

P.P.S- Dont worry about my absense on all your blogs and the missing blog link.. its all taken care of. earlier i couldnt visit blogs as i had not put it up after i changed the template.. i will be back to reading your blogs in no time!! 

Finally it Rained!!

Phew! finally it rained.... after a period of 8 days of continuous heat wave.. last evening finally the Norwesters descended... it was a relief.. with the storm blowing away the curtains.. the windows slamming...the cool breeze instilling a fresh new breath to life... finally the Kolkattans yesterday heaved a sigh of relief! 

if last night was one of the coolest and most pleasant nights of this summer season...today was simply spectacular...i woke up to a distinct chill making it impossible to continue sleeping... the sun didn't wake me up rudely this time.. and it was sheer bliss to snuggle in within sheets cuddling up to my niece...sigh! i couldn't thank god enough for this day.. for a day like this.. with clouds mystifying the sky...the sun nowhere in sight and the temperatures going down several notches...having to go to college or to study on a day like this is a crime...

It didn't take long for the threats of the cloud to turn to a reality...it poured cats and dogs.. relentlessly...and we all got a breather...with the heat wave forgotten for the moment.. its a perfect time to go for walks in the rain kissed streets..with hand in hand with that special one..to drop in at the local tea-walla...or the CCD and enjoying a hot cuppa... or sitting in the car with that special someone and watching the rains stain the glass... its just splendid! sigh!  

P.S; yeah yea its yet another rain post... but i do get to gloat 'i told you so' now didn't i?? :D!!

P.P.S: BTW guess what?? my Tamil exam finished.. nothing spectacular to talk about...but then i know i will pass. now that's what i call relief!! :D  so that's just 3 more exams to go... :) 

Updates

So finally exams are over!! time to rejoice...my last exam was rocking and no guesses for this one.. yup it was my favorite prof's paper :) so now that my exams are over i have a 'to do' list waiting.. loads of laundry,reorganizing my cupboard, some serious thinking and loads of fun needs to be done ASAP!! a small little trip is in waiting and wow I'm excited about it... and then there are a lot of social do's to attend to. Sunday I'm supposed to go out on a picnic to the zoo with Samik's folks and two adorable kids, Mohor Samik's neice,aged 2 and Rishu Samik's brother[uncles son]aged 4. i get along well with both hence the request was made.. boy wont it be fun to be with kids and visit the zoo after more than a decade of my last visit. there are a few marriages i have to attend to, not that i look forward to it but then Samik and i need to attend it nonetheless, his office colleagues after all.

This time i have planned to take time off from the 20Th-4Th of January from all the pesky kids i teach. i ll be on total rest, and hopefully loads of fun and entertainment will come my way and the way things look breathing will be the last thing on my mind :) but hey the first and foremost i need to catch up on some solid sleep. Ive been deprived of sleep. in the last 42 hours, i have slept for only 2 and a half hours. been up since 3 today, had exams then a tuition's and then this royal event i will just come up to. needless to say I'm dog tired and what i need now is to slow down and simply rest.. sigh!

Okay now for the royal news. my friend is the coordinator of our college for NDTV and he ensured that i was among those who could be on the sets of NDTV's Kolkata round of 'Indian Of The Year' program. it will be aired and as an audience i was there in both the Hindi and the English edition of the program. i even got to rub shoulders with the creme de la creme of Kolkata's social circuits, Usha Uthup, Bikram Ghosh, Dolly Basu, Derek O'Brian and few others were present. what was best about the English edition was, that we discussed the war on Mumbai in depth and the comments and solutions that came up were a proof of politically radical Indians who really care and follow events instead of just turning a blind eye to it. in the Hindi episode we had a discussion on 3 major categories in which there were nominees and if we were to vote from each category then who would we vote for? what was most interesting was that people actually came up with the modifications that could be made in the list of nominees; but what was important was the desire to see a common man who has reached the zenith to be the Indian of the Year, and almost everyone voiced spontaneously that all those who were a part of the rescue operation in the war against Mumbai deserved to be the Indian of the Year.

I got some first hand knowledge of the journalism that takes place, the nitty ghitties of shooting, the camera angels and how this whole system works. i was fascinated how the whole episode was shot spontaneous without rehearsals or any script. the mark of a great journalist is to man any given situation and here Mr Vishnu Som excelled, not only with the interaction with the crowd, the powerful throw of the words but most importantly how he weaved the statements of commoners and the celebrities alike into a whole, and moderating the whole episode. I'm totally floored by the professionalism and finesse. man! what an experience this is!! *Sigh*

Time to hit the sack or i might just collapse here...

Have a happy weekend..

Cheers!!

Victory!! As relief floods in...

YAY!! the ordeal is over... even though there are casualties.... loss of life ...destruction... but most of the hostages has been rescued...terrorists killed Taj could have been blown up.. a 106 year old heritage building.. but for th brave hearts who has ensured that they will be there every time there is a crisis.. they don't care for their lives.. their loved ones... but for their country.. who smile and shrug nonchalantly saying.. it wasn't a big deal , it was their job to help the country...

Kudos to the Army, NSG and the other forces at work which after 62 hours brought the nightmare to a fitful end... Major Unnikrishnan finds a special mention as the brave heart who fell to his fate serving his nation *salute*

Today Indians can rest but tomorrow will be the time.. to book those for whom we suffered such a nightmare.. the politicians have a lot to answer for...