The big bad world...!

To say that I never thought of getting into journalism would be a lie! My ambitions differed from year to year and journalism did stay on my mind for a period of time. Though I was not sure how to go about it. Then came in French, which swayed my mind towards translation and teaching. I was already learning French in college and the thought of exploring a career in it made me take up a diploma course in the language. I was loving the entire process of learning this polite and sophisticated language at Alliance Francaise (an institute for French, affiliated to the Paris University), through which I got a second-hand experience of France and it's people. It was a different world at Alliance. Unlike other educational institutions, we had a class filled with students, coming from not only different professional backgrounds but also different age groups. It was wonderful! We had a doctor sitting on one chair in the classroom, a professor sitting on the other and a collegian on the other, all trying to get the pronunciations of French words right. I spent some of the most memorable time of my life at Alliance, made some very dear friends! Out of all the people I met, including some of the most amazing teachers at the institute, I will always cherish two friends that I made along the way --- Father Dolrich and Smita. Father Dolrich was perhaps the only priest that I had come across, who was so fun-loving and bohemian in nature. Clad in a tee/shirt, pants and chappals, he loved enlightening me on various aspects of life. And Smita was one of the coolest professors of Spanish, who was now learning French. Three of us would wait after class for hours together and yap yap yap. Sometimes, I would wonder what made us click so well. I was the youngest, with the 'teeny-bopper hangover', and absolutely had no common topic to talk on with them. But still we gelled in the most astonishing manner. I yearn to talk to them so many times now, the way we would earlier, but to my dismay! Father Dolrich flew off to France and Smita is happily married in Bombay. Smita and I still try n talk over the phone once in a year but Father Dolrich, I really miss talking to him.
Coming back to French, I was enjoying each and every moment at the institute, but somehow something pulled me back to take up the language on a professional level. As they say, 'God always has some other plans for you!' Thats exactly what happened. I was destined to be a part of the 'big bad world' of media. And my entry ticket into this world was Femina magazine. I jumped on the opportunity of freelancing for their Pune issue, with absolutely no knowledge or background in the field. All I had with me was ignorance and a strong passion for writing. When my first article got published in the magazine, I realised that no joy could ever be compared to the excitement of seeing your name in print. It was the greatest satisfaction one could ever experience! And that was my deciding moment to hold on to this 'superficial' and harsh world of news and entertainment. Ever since my first article, as I look back on time, this profession has given me much more than I could ever ask for. I have interacted with people whom I could only dream of and learnt some worthwhile lessons in due course, which will remain with me forever. I am only proud and thankful today to see myself amidst a pool of people who not only have a mind of their own but also have the capacity to influence the minds of others through the power of pen.