Thirteen Years and Counting..................................(Part-1)

Thirteen Years and Counting..................................(Part-1)

Today at 5:30pm

This is the story of a long pain and shorter gain........This is the story of an unending journey which has shown me all the ups and downs,suffering and pleasure,sorrow and happiness in media and have made me emerged from darkness to an enlighten world, have made me from an infant to a fully grown up man in media............................

I recall my meeting with a rather low profile,but remarkable achiever in meida Mr Madhukar Upadhyaya when I just had passed my 10th board exam in 1990.He was in Ayodhya to cover bloody shoot out on streets of Ayodhya and I ,by that time had decided to make my way in Journalism.That was a very cool meeting at his native house amidst long trees,wide playground,a holy temple and old but spreaded in all direction building. As I entered in his house through old trembling stairs he came out in a 'lungi' with a 'Janeu' on his bare upper abdomen. Very politly he siad,"Thakur pandit ji ke bete ho".I gave a positive nod and then discussed about my dream to be like him and serve in the three letter charishma of media--BBC. He wrote down his home address of Delhi and promised to see me in Delhi---after my graduation.

Exactly five years later when I passed the entrance test of Mass Communication course of University of Lucknow, I,while on my way from Ayodhya to Lucknow ,I again rang him up to ask him whether or not to submit the fee for said course,he advised to stick with the course, and that decided my fate to pack up my bags for a rather longer journey in media.The year was 1997 and the month was March.

Lucknow University as I had presumed had nothing to offer much in terms of classroom studies,but as a city Lucknow, at that time was 'Mecca of Media' for it was a political center of all kind of politics we study in our books. So,soon after taking admission in Masters program, and to live up to the dream of my father I started roaming around and knocking on the doors of each news paper and media houses. Luckily, I was noticed by one of my teacher and veteran in media Mr Karuna Shanker Saxena, and he offered( rather nourished my writing skills) me to write on regular basis for a feature agency,where he was serving as editor.

It was a kick start to my career media alongside my studies. And trually I enjoyed my job which lasted for six months--uptill my departure from Lucknow to Delhi. The first article which I wrote was on chinese leader Deng-Xio-Ping's death and it was published--not rejected.I developed relation in Hindustan Times and visited its lucknow office several times. I recall that we had plenty of students crazy for journalism and some of them has come a long way.Indeed begining in Journalism was as I had predicted.People with long bear and empty belly walking in newspaper office to get thier stuff published and editore always trying to find out how to reject them.

Through these unforgetful experience,and as time rolled down I had finished one year but some where deep in my concious was the picture of Delhi, where the real media was to be fought. The war between freshers and experience media people...the war between print and electronic journalism and a war which really has given the shape of today's media industry with the effort of the real heroes who are now not with us....

And I got my way to knock on Delhi doors as I always say where there is a will there is a way------------

To be continued...............