A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN “EDITOR”
BY: PIA BAKSHI
As my car went inside the gate I could feel the adrenalin rush…….I stepped down to make an entry in the visitor’s book and that is when I realized….hey! I wasn’t a visitor, I was an intern...I was working with them …for the next two days I was a part of the Indian Express family …
Then I spotted my fellow Reporters’ Club members, or should I say my colleagues .……..Yes, we were given the chance to edit the children’s day supplement of the Indian Express and boy, were we excited.
The distance from the parking to the main building was like the longest walk of my life.I was overwhelmed .After all this was the first time they had students our age do something so big.
We first met ma’am Chhavi who aqcainted us all with our basic task that day.We had to shortlist 80 articles out of the 300 they had received.After a quick briefing we set to work. We went to their conference hall. It was imposing but we realized that, if we have been given this oppurtunity, we surely have something in us.So with full confidence in ourselves and our abilities we sat down on the comfortable chairs getting a little familiar with the place.And soon we were given a huge pile of articles and pictures etc. sent in by various schools. Our basic aim was to keep everything that was original and eliminate everything that appeared to be copied.
I actually felt like Meryl Streep in Devil Wears Prada .The difference was that while she rejected clothes we rejected articles .Also while she did it with no qualms; we were actually experiencing a mental battle. All these children had made such great effort but it is ardous to keep all articles.After what seemed liked a whole day of deliberations we finally drew a consensus as to which articles to keep and which to avoid.
We were then introduced to ma’am Shweta who was also, once, a carmelite.Her expertise and experience inspired all of us and helped us learn all necessary things for our future ventures.
13th Nov too, we were asked to come to view the designing of the page.We practically saw how a dull white paper is changed into a pageant of colours.Aso we went through our shortlisted entries and checked them for any grammatical errors.Sitting on the reporter’s seat I was experiencing what I had longed to experience –a feeling of being an editor; a feeling of being trusted with the responsibility of a newspaper; the feeling of knowing that –Yes! You are capable of realizing your dreams.
Next, we visited the canteen where we were treated to a sumptous bread pakoda floating in my favourite ‘imli ki chattni’.That was truly a satisfaction of taste buds.With each bite, I was savouring the taste of this snack.Not because of the way it was made or anything but because this was the first time I went to the canteen of a workplace after a hard day’s work.
We bade farewell to all the people who were instrumental in helping us realize our dream.Also we thank the entire team for being so supportive .We also appreciate the effort of all the students who had sent their articles to this esteemed newspaper.I sat in the car knowing that from on we all could proudly call ourselves-“STUDENT EDITORS” ………and I drove off taking with me the experience of a lifetime.AS I rolled down the window to catch a glimpse of this office I was fludded with nostalgia.
“Yes today we had done someone proud –our families; our friends; our teachers; our school; our mentor-but most importantly the someone was “US”. It is difficult to gain respect in the eyes of others but it is all the more difficult to gain respect and pride in your own eyes.We were our scrutinizing critics and that day we pleased the critc in us……
