It was sometime in March 2004 when all my friends were appearing for the final year University exams but I was waiting for them outside our college. Yes!!! I was not allowed to appear for the exams as I had poor attendance. And that because I was an ‘out’standing student – quite literally. I had no idea what to do until I met my college senior Narayanan. Since I was actively involved in student activism during my college days I was in touch with some of the student leaders of the Students Federation of India. Narayanan was one among them. It was a casual chat that I had with him where he was asking me about my future plans. I was searching for answers and the only thing I could tell him was that I wanted to do something beneficial for the society. Who knew then that the casual chat over a cup of tea would change my life forever. I am what i am today thanks to him and that chai pe charcha.
That chat led to a few meetings and soon I was offered a job as a freelancer in the marketing department of 'Theekkathir' daily newspaper - a mouthpiece of the Left parties. All I had to do was bring advertisements. After taking it up I realized that it was the toughest job in the world. There was no fixed salary - I got a 25 per cent commission per advertisement - that was all. Oh but wait. There's more. Along with marketing for the paper I also had to deliver 'Theekkathir' at 20 shops in my area. Even though I was taken aback, I wasn't in a position to deny. It was a challenge and I decided to take it up. There were 3 commandments given to me along with the job.
1. Deliver papers
2. Read 5 Tamil & 3 English news dailies compulsorily
3. Keep your eyes and ears open.
From that day on, my days began at 4.30 am. I was following what I was told - delivering papers at stands, reading news papers and bringing advertisements. I didn't even have a two wheeler at that time so I had to depend on public transport. A monthly pass of 600 rupees and I was crisscrossing Chennai like nobody’s business. I brought revenue in the form of advertisements to the newspaper and I was also making new friends in the process. And amidst this all, I was also keenly observing all that was happening around me in the world of politics and the ongoing 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
That journey is still continuing till date. Neethirajan (Hindu Tamil) - the Guru, Mayilai Balu, A Kumerasen, Jaffar and Gavaskar were the people who taught me politics, news and photography. I learnt the basics of Journalism at 'Theekkathir'. And for that I'm deeply thankful to these people who have a great contribution to making me who I am today. But it was time to move on and look ahead.
My next stop was the television medium ... Win TV. The only non-political regional channel to have a news license apart from Sun Network and Jaya TV. It was a place where I could experiment all that I had learnt. I was into reporting first and then got pushed into the programming department to handle a show called 'Needhikaaga' (For justice). The show helped me in bringing out real stories & issues into the public domain and for that learning I am thankful to SM Backer, Muneer sir, Manimaran & Senthil sir.
I neither did Visual communication nor have I been to any J School. Whatever I learnt was on the job. I grew up listening to stories of Sandalwood smuggler Veerappan and Nakkeeran Gopal but never imagined that there would be a day when I would get to work with the latter. I was hired as an online reporter for 'Nakkeeran'. The place taught me how to cultivate sources & how to get to the bottom of each story. Karthigai Chelvan who was my then immediate boss (The then online editor or Nakkeeran now with TOI) were very supportive in allowing me to learn.
Then I was back to TV with full enthusiasm - Raj TV, my next stop. Loganathan, the then Chief Reporter at Raj TV was like my mentor. A reporter whom I used to admire when I attended DMK Chief M Karunanidhi's press conferences as a cub reporter. He would be the first one to question him loud and clear ... something that I learnt from him. No one could match his energy levels & his understanding of politics & local issues. I took his advice seriously and decided to move to English medium and I'm extremely grateful and thankful to Dhanya Rajenderan (Former Times Now & Now The Newsminute Editor) for dragging me in at the right time.
I still tell my friends & colleagues at Times Now that she was the one who dragged me into the English media. Her strong recommendation to the then NDTV-HINDU's Senior Editor Saptarishi Bhattarcharya worked and I was taken into the channel - the only English city-specific one at the time. With average English knowledge & not so strong self-confidence, I entered RMZ Millennia - the NDTV-HINDU headquarters.
From a regional channel to an English channel was like a culture shift for me. Every single thing starting from the language to the way news is collected, processed and put out was different. And for me, the challenge became easy with the help of a lot of people. NDTV-HINDU was a place that taught me more than any J school would do. And for that I'm thankful to Jennifer Arul and Saptarishi Bhattarcharya for even giving me that opportunity.
That was the place where I learnt the ABC of professional journalism. And here, I must pause and thank a few very special people without whom, I would probably not be where I am now. First and foremost, I thank Roohi Saleem for being a friend, philosopher and a guide. She was there for me as a support system at the early stages of my career at NDTV-HINDU. I would also like to thank Madhavi ma'am, senior video journalist Seenu sir, Sara, Surya, Evelyn, Avinaash, Menaal, Ramanathan and Nithila - I must say they were all like a divine blessing for me in a completely new environment. I was fortunate that i got an opportunity to work with the star journalists of Chennai who i used to look up to - Sanjay Pinto & Sam Daniel. Sanjay Pinto gave me a lot of freedom and space to do stories that are like feathers in my cap, particularly the TNHB Scam involving the high and mighty which led to the scrapping of discretionary quota.
Then it was time to go national ... I was scared because its a different ball game altogether. I owe this entirely to my friends Meenakshi Mahadevan & Ajith Rangachari. They have been my pillar of strength. Meenakshi, Vikram Gopinath & Ajith's efforts of bringing me into the national media paid off well and after two years at Headlines Today I moved on to Times now.
Many people have helped me on the job, but there are a few who may not have worked with me but have still done their bit in shaping my career. A special thanks to Barathi Tamizhan, Mani Annan, Kosalram ans Swathi Narayanan for always having my back and an equally big thanks to Krishna Ananth sir & Madhavan aka Maddy for guiding me always and my friends in the Tamil Media (Kodambakkam Group).
In these 11 years I have met many people and learnt a lot. I have also been fortunate in earning many well wishers, friends and even a few foes. Nevertheless the journey from Theekkathir to Times Now has been remarkable.
I would be wrong if I didn't thank my parents for giving me the independence in deciding what I wanted for myself and my sisters for being there for me. But an even bigger thanks is due for all the people who have trusted me enough to share information knowing fully well that they would never be able to take credit for the stories. Thank you, thank you and thank you for trusting me.
Without you all, I am nothing.
