Taxi No 5170-Revisiting history

My internship started on the 20th of October this year in Delhi. I am really not used to roaming around Delhi on my own. Working with a new wire service for just a couple of days taught me the importance of doing just that. A good way to lose those few (uh um) extra pounds. One such assignment took me back to Red Fort, a historical bonanza of Delhi, which I had visited once, a decade earlier, on a school picnic (ahhhh....the long lost times).

A taxi was sent as my mode of transportation for the day. Around 2 in the afternoon my adventure began. R.K. Puram to Red Fort is a long way, taking some 45 minutes one way. So i had a long time to take a look at what were the other landmarks of Delhi that we passed on the way. First on the way came Hotel Taj Mahal, one of the oldest in the city. I could see glimpses of an amazing infrastructure through a lush green curtain of trees and bushes planted all around the hotel.

Next on the drive came the majestic India Gate. Built to honour the freedom fighters of our country, the India Gate stands as tall as ever and still attracts people from all over the country for a customary visit. Though this landmark is said to be at its visual best at night when it's all lighted up, even at day it was easy to make out why this monument demands the respect of every India even after 60 years of Independence. We also passed the Parliament House but by then I was late for the event that I had to cover so did not have the time to marvel at that structure.

My first glimpse at the Red Fort took my breath away. Majesctic to say the least, the massive red stone structure draws awe from everyone who looks upon it. All I had the time for was to take a quick tour around the Fort. Seeing the legendary Diwan-i-aam somehow brought to my mind the scene from Jodha Akbar (YES, I noticed something else besides Hrithik in the film, get over it...:P).

However, I had very little time to actually take in the splendour of the monument. All I could take in was the sandstone structure from far. Soon after a sprinkling of white t shirts indicated the beginning of the event I had actually gone to cover. Covered extensively by the media, it was a climate change drive where a giant human 5 formation was being formed at the Red Fot representing '350', the actualy level of carbon that should be present in the atmosphere as opposed to '390' parts per million which is present today. The enthusiasm of students was amazing to witness.

Soon it was time to go back to the office and file my story. Unfortunately, the historical Red Fort would feature almost nowhere in my report. I came out from the majestic gates of the Fort and headed towards my taxi. On the way back I passed the Parliament Houe and realizd the contrast that both the buildings presented. The former was a representation of the time when Mughals ruled over our country and the latter stood as a mark of democratic India. That day I realized every trip had something special in it. It is up to us to realize the importance and appreciate it accordingly.

Working on the move...

I am training to be a Print Journalist. I love reading and writing. Basically I am technologically challenged. I chicken out at the thought of using any sort of technology and softwares gives me nightmares. Imagine what my reaction would have been when I came to know that we have to compulsory do a broadcast story for a college assignment. No, I did not faint (have some faith) but yeah I did go Eeeeeeeeeep!


I was supposed to do a story with one of my colleagues, Rujuta, who is a broadcast journalism candidate. Hence she was in charge of reporting and I was in charge of the camera (me, handling a camera, laudable really). Being the reporter, she figured out the story idea, chalked out a travel plan, we went and booked all the equipment and voila, we were ready to go for our shoot. The story was about the propoganda created by political parties in the form of their party symbols on swine flu masks. The shop which was selling these masks was in Budhwar Peth, the Red Light area of Pune. Since we had started in the evening on her scooty, we were fighting against the loss of light which would make the shoot even more difficult. This, however, did not stop us from enjoying, gossiping throughout the ride and having a nice Bhutta break in the middle of our journey.

Finally, we reached our destination with just enough light to help us take our outdoor shots. Now I have to share the experience of handling a camera on my own for the first time. It gave me a sort of powerful feeling. There was a feeling of being able to capture all images on a tape which would stay as a memory for a long time to come. Having people stare at you when you shoot gives a person a heady rush (especially when it is a novice like me). However, with some slight mistakes, we were finally ready to take our shots and interviews. The shoot went on for some one and a half hours. We both were exhausted at the end of it. But the experience was an extremely exhilerating one. We packed up our stuff and again started off towards our next destination.

The next stop was Rujuta's home. She wanted to leave her scooty back home (petrol prices gone up by leaps and bounds if you didnt notice). Her mom made me eat some traditional Marathi food which included Bakdewadu. All I can say is Yummyyyyy. We spent a nice time with her mom who gave me a green signal to come to her place and hog on traditional Marathi food whenever I wanted. However, soon it was time to leave for our hill again. We left Rujuta's place and reached our bus stop. Then we started our journey back. We were so tired that we went off to sleep as soon as we settled in our seats inside the bus. Finally we reached our hill top, exhausted yet satisfied. It was one of the days which made me realize that I am not as bad with technology as I thought. I have lost the fear that Broadcast journalism held for me but I don't think I will be drifting towards a career in that medium until and unless I am dragged there kicking and screaming. :D