Out in the real world!
It was the 28th of July 2010, I was all excited about my first ever beat reporting day. I reached the Sports Authority of India (SAI) office, armed with all my hurriedly-done research and questions for the Bangalore-based athletes preparing for the Commonwealth Games.
Before long, I realized it was not my day as nothing went my way. After all, with great difficulty, I managed to reach the SAI office but before long, I was rudely asked to leave. No courtesy extended, none asked for .
Indeed this bitter experience, humiliating to say the least, taught me a few lessons instantly. Never take a situation for granted. Never expect officials to be courteous, all the time. Expect the unexpected and be prepared to face the worst.
The curt words of the SAI official, “Sorry, we can’t entertain you. Please Leave!’ still hurts. I had never faced such a situation and that was another reason for me to feel completely helpless. For that moment, all the hard work I had put into my research and homework appeared meaningless. But I guess… in the practical and ruthless world, one needs to be tough enough to deal with such harsh treatment. Clearly, on that day, I was not ready to deal with such a situation.
Dejected but not disheartened, I went ahead to do another story. But even when I was planning a new story, a question came to my mind. Aren’t we journalists are just like other working individuals? Like other professionals, we, too, strive for excellence, within the given time frame. So do we deserve to be treated like this? Perhaps not.
It did become clear to me that indeed it takes all kinds to make this world. My story and deadline meant very little to that SAI official. I was left wondering whether I expected too much out of that official? Perhaps yes.
That day, really taught me the first lesson of my career starting as a journalist and that is… no matter how prepared you are, be ready to face the most unexpected circumstances and come out stronger. I guess, out in the real world, Darwin’s theory of the ‘Survival of the Fittest’ still holds good.
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