WINDS AND TIME…

Have you ever heard the winds growl in anger, waiting to be free, broken form the bondage they are in? Have you heard them scream at you angrily because you would not let them go? I have! But telling you about it could be a little funny.

Currently I am living in a place called Manipal which is a very small, land locked town of Karnataka. Majorly comprised of the Manipal University, this town is a nature-at-its-best place. It has all that you could think a town could have and there is nothing about this town that would make you despise it. Oh, I forgot, except the weather. The weather is mainly extreme and even though Karnataka has the privilege of being close to the sea, Manipal is no good as it is land locked. Moral of the story, Manipal has its own sadistic weather.

So, as I was talking about the winds and how I heard them growling in anger. It so happened that one fine day when I was having my pleasant Sunday afternoon long shower I heard something very scary and yes, nerving. For a moment I froze because believe me readers, I actually thought that indeed my fears have come alive. Finally there is a ghost in my bathroom (yeah not my closet!!)!! And I froze there for a minute thinking okay what the hell do I do now?!!? Freaking out would be a better word, because that is precisely what I was doing.

I waited, listened again and then broke into a fit of laughter. I laughed so loud that my roommate knocked on the door and asked me if I was fine, assuming that I had slipped and fallen so I was laughing (which I normally do, laugh when I fall and not cry!). Eh, yeah I am a little weird. Coming back to why I was laughing, it was the wind of course.

When a strong wind blows through a small crevice, it makes a growling noise which seems like one of the horror effects given in a movie. So, putting the pieces of the story together- small gap in the window of my bathroom, wind blows through it, I freak out, realize it is but the wind and break into laughter. Tadaa a small story!!

My main aim of writing this piece was of course a little humor (at which I am very bad), but there is another message to it too. People around us there a lot of things keep happening. These things are so minute that we don’t notice them because we are too busy with our own lives. We do not have time for ourselves, leave alone our parents and friends. If only we could take a few seconds out of our busy schedules and give that time to our loved ones and to Mother Nature, we would be sparing time for our own happiness indeed. It is these small moments which lighten us up when there is no one around us and we really need someone to come and comfort us. Listening to nature could be a very good habit or hobby as it not only alerts our senses but it also gives a little peace to our ever tiring body and soul.

So the next time something freaks you out, stop, look, observe, listen and then laugh it off….unless there is really a ghost in your closet!!

LOOKOUT….

Question: Sir, you said that you were unemployed for around eight months after you resigned from the Independent. So, does this mean there is no job security in the field of journalism?

Answer: No. absolutely not. Well, if you do want a job security why don’t you join LIC instead?

And at this the entire audience in Chaitya Hall broke into a huge applause and cheered out loud. I joined them too saying, ‘Oh my god. Now that was a punch in the face.’ A fellow college mate sitting in front of me turned around and said, ‘Oh yes, that was a big hard punch!’

It wasn’t the student’s fault to ask that question. Little did he know he was talking to Vinod Mehta, editor of the Outlook magazine. Yes indeed, that is what Vinod Mehta is. A witty, in-your-face, spontaneous and intelligent person. But at the same time he will sit back and take a minute off, think and then answer a question. Though he gives fire and energy with every answer, he still insists that there are a few questions which need time and can’t be just buttered out.

A man who in one of his letters to his readers in the magazine said that he wouldn’t take offence on anything the readers spoke about him unless they spared his wife, paternity and his dog whom he calls-Editor, he would be a happy man. He has a clear cut policy-believe in the truth and bring it out. He also says that journalism is about commercialization because journalists are out there not to be Public Service Announcers but they are there to do their job.

Printing a paper or a magazine, or even broadcasting a television show or a radio show has its own costs and if a journalist is working towards earning that cost it isn’t a bad deal. But having said this, he explains why he says that. He isn’t supporting paid news or fake news or even asking reporters to take bribes. All he says is that journalists need to understand their sticking to ethics is good but if it hurdles in getting the truth out, then they must try methods not so conventional, in bringing out the truth. Still, he insists to keep ‘that’ money away.

He adds being friends with politicians isn’t really a very good idea. Being a critic is important and when a journalist is a friend to a politician or a celebrity, he/she cannot be a critic. Having mock tails at a party, lunch or dinners with celebs and politicians is good, but being too close and sharing personal information or sharing an emotional bond with these people can cost a little too much to a journalist’s profession. That is because he/she cannot freely criticize them. So maintaining a good distance and keeping an official contact to get the truth out is important.

He is not a non-supporter of ethics but he says if Wikileaks had chosen Outlook instead of The Hindu, he would give out his right arm and gladly support them. By this he meant, stick to your ethics but work hard towards getting the truth out. At the end of the day, bringing the truth out to people is more important than anything else.

Protection of source is vital and to an extent mandatory. He is against the concept of revealing his source because he honestly and openly believes that if he lets out his sources’ name, he is losing him/her forever. So, he says even if he had to go through the worse, he wouldn’t mind it but he would never reveal his source.

I do not normally choose to write about people in my blog, but here I am doing it. There is a reason behind it. Vinod Mehta is a man who is not a preacher, not a pretender. He tells you to wake up, look at the truth and the reality. Preaching about ethics, saying that a certain institution (here even a media organization), is not exchanging money under the table or indulging in corruption or even being exclusive for a piece of news is false and an ideal situation which is good in theory. What is important is being right and if you are wrong, accepting that you are wrong. He will bring the right thing and give it to you in your face. He will not beat around the bush or pretend to know something. He is what he is. And without a doubt I am in complete awe of the man.

He says, ‘Any media house is run by a business man. I am here to do a business and I am not working towards preaching for the public. I am working towards bringing the truth to them and thus doing my job. I support and will always be a supporter of the truth, no matter what.’

AN ASSOCIATION

A real time work for a real time purpose- this is how I see the new website coming as. I always wanted to be a part of something real time, something which was different from my course, something extra, something nice. Joining the Manipal The Talk.Net 2.0, I feel there could be a new beginning and I could actually work towards it-work towards making a certain difference in others and hence my life.

Every big work/task needs a small step. I see this website as a small step to a huge ocean of knowledge and improvement in my writing skills. There are a few basic things which make a good website and I feel the Executive Team has put in almost everything that could make it a hooker for students. Also, there are more ideas which are still pouring in and would be uploaded in the near time period.

Every member of the Executive Team has some quality which makes them stand out from the rest be in terms of literally skills, painting drawing, selling a product (publicity mainly) decision making or coming up with the most weirdest and never-heard of ideas. Hence, all in all, the 19 members so far hold an important position in the team and have been working equally hard to get the site to heights of which others can only dream but we CAN achieve.

A site you should look up to and look for as it is going to be the next best thing in the ‘www.’.

IT’S ALL FAITH…

The most impatient and toughest hours are the ones when it’s nearing its end. I lose my patience always pray to God to help me survive through the last few minutes. I am talking about my fast on Maha Shivratri. I have been doing them for around four years now and each year it just gets better. No troubles, no worries, only God and me. It is eternal and out of the world experience.

The only problem that comes is what I have mentioned above. However, it is sweet to wait for the last few moments to come to an end so that I could take my first drop of water and that too the jal from the puja. This year I thought why not write about it.

I am an ardent believer of Lord Shiv and I do all that in my power to pray and worship Him. My mother would always tell me that it is very difficult to please Shiv but He being the bhole baba, the innocent one-once pleased, He will give you whatever you wish for. Where my attraction for him started I have no idea. Maybe because I was born on a Monday and Monday is the Shiv pujan day which is why I am such a strong believer in Him…

This year, everything went as smooth as the butter only until nine pm after which weakness hit me hard. I knew I had started to fall apart physically but I had to keep up with the fatigue. Anyway, the fast includes not drinking water or eating anything for 24 hours and keeping maun i.e., not talking either. My friends asked me how can I not speak to which I just think ‘God makes you do things if you believe in Him’ and smile. At the end of the 24 hours, I break my fast with the Holy Water and then eat food. Also once seated to eat, getting up and eating a second time isn’t allowed. So it’s always better to keep everything ready before hand which I make sure of.

Breaking the fast isn’t the best thing about the day though. I’ll tell you why. The whole day I am on nothing and when I suddenly eat I feel nauseous with a heavy head and sweaty forehead. This is because breakdown of food inside the body is an exothermic reaction hence releasing heat. And as I am empty stomach the whole day, this reaction speeds up there by releasing heat immediately. Not wanting to eat after two spoons is another feeling which comes in. As the heat releases, the body moves into fatigue and the muscles stiffen up wanting rest. But pushing the body towards gaining a little energy is the only way to keep my stomach full. As I break my fast and I am done eating, I relax pray again and fall asleep thanking Him for making the fast good and easy.

A sense of nausea hits me and I wish I could doze off, travel to another world where I could pray more and reach the eternal. I know I am tired but I know He will save me from all my troubles and grant me peace in the end. He knows that I will come back to Him year after year till I am there. I also know He is there for me, always by my side smiling from above and saying-look I am inside your heart.