LIFE OF AN INTERN

Grilling, un-paid, and simply taxing- it’s called The Internship.

Here is to all the young bees out there full of energy and enthusiasm, this fascinating term called ‘Internship’ might sound fancy and cool. But let me tell you, it’s no swag deal but a serious business, painful indeed. So here I am, who was once an intern want to

share this piece of reverberation on behalf of all those who went through this intimidating phase of donkey days. Not to kill the enthusiasm to all those who are excited about their upcoming internship, but a piece of caution to enlighten you about the big bad world of internship.

Someone once asked back in my college days, “Hey what plans this summer?” While most of us would say, a holiday in Thailand and there’ll be others who visit their hometowns and a couple more who would definitely stick up selfies of their adventurous summer vacation. My awkwardly obvious answer to that question was, ‘I will be an Intern this summer’. And then came the responses that reeked into my ear as if trying to pity and mock at me for not being ‘the uber cool girl’.

Brushing away all those things aside I anyway decided to go ahead with my internship plans with an established news publication in Bangalore. The first day I was nervous and clueless. While my mentor instructed me and five other interns about our tasks, I could see from the corner of my eye how the curious staff gape at me. 'This is an internship that puts you through all kinds of tests and ability to perform well in the organization', I was told. I knew it was just a month's stint and that it was un-paid, in a way unfair but Hey.. The whole goddam world is unfair, so how does it matter, I thought. My nervous hands and trembling voice only made me realize the first day fear of not knowing anything. And this was the career I dreamt off and passionate about- to be a journalist. Nevertheless a gentle voice in me said, It’s ok. No Big deal once you are into it. Relax..!, to which I took a deep breath and began my first day in high spirits.

Over the coming few days I did learn basics of news writing and more of office gossips about reporters and editors but nothing big happened beyond that. After all I was a curious Under Graduate who tried to grasp everything that caught my fancy. But regardless of the amount of knowledge I had gathered, the number of bylines I got, the variety of people I met to get enough meat for my story, one thing disappointed me a lot- The System: one that takes beginners for granted which I eventually figured was all a serious business for the big bosses in its truest sense. Especially in a country like India, I see it nothing rather than a scam that keeps the organization sailing, mostly run by college amateurs called ‘Interns’. No big model to explain. It’s simple. With the number of young population increasing every year, the demand for jobs will quite obviously increase. The increasing need to fit into the competitive world puts us (intern) into catch 22 situation. So in this mad world of competition for the best jobs, how will companies look out for the best employee? The answer is Internship programs. No cost incurred, work done for free and flexible. And that’s where freshers’ or college goers come into fray. We do certainly learn a lot, no doubt that apart you might have to bear in mind the free cost labor that you are offering them.

Little Sacrifices are mandatory

Imagine you are seated and working on a piece given to you, that little unimportant thing and the next moment your senior comes over and asks you to vacate the seat. Your immediate reaction will of course be, why should I get up? And can’t you see I’m working?. Then comes your voiceless self who just decides to make way despite knowing it isn’t fair. We interns sometimes tend to get over excited about working hard (which I find stupid). Instead of working smart we chose the former and make life hell for your boss and for yourself. Take for instance an idea for a story that you (hard working intern) have to convince your boss into taking it up. Now why in the world would a boss listen to an intern of all? Just do what I have asked you to, nothing beyond that, is by far the sweetest reply you could get. Dejected we get back to our seats into monitoring those boring tweets scrolling up and down for eight freaking hours. 

So let’s take it back to the smart working intern with the same idea to the boss. Instead of just going with the idea, the smart intern makes a story and the necessary pitch that the news firm follows and presents it before the boss. Now it’s also about how well he/ she sells the story. If your wavelength of story ideas matches with the company, voila…! There you’ve hit the ball. But not all can make it unless you are exceptionally good.  With regard to the hard working interns, I totally relate to the frustrations and challenges you are put through every minute. And all this for nothing..? You are not even sure if you’ll be absorbed. How on earth can one not guess about this strategy that every firm yearly or even quarterly hires free employees (interns) to do away with their meagre bit of work? As Albert Einstein rightly said, “Any fool can know. But the point is to understand”. Until we realize the purpose of this emerging business, we will be all time scapegoats who are made to slog for free. Either you crack it and be the best or you become the humble and hardworking schmuck, the choice is yours. The world ain’t going to get any better so you gear up yourself and mark that ink on their papers.

From transcribing to translating, from researching to editing, from managing several bosses to being punctual, the life of an intern has no definition literally. He is the one who edits that small mistake, he is the one who smiles at you all time, he is that intern who waits eagerly to learn, and he is that intern who gave up his holiday, his home, his favorite Sunday sport or his undisturbed nap on Saturday evenings.. He is no one to be true. Neither an employee nor a well-wisher. He is the nameless fella..! Just an intern. His identity is always and will always be hidden.

P.S: A Journalist Who Was Once An Intern

Word for Thought: Real v/s Unreal

Word for Thought: Real v/s Unreal: If dreams were to come true, then it better not be this one. After four rigorous days of assignments at MI, I finally decided to get s...

Real v/s Unreal

If dreams were to come true, then it better not be this one. After four rigorous days of assignments at MI, I finally decided to get some sleep on the fifth night. As I laid back, the alpha waves slowly began to overpower my senses. I vaguely remember seeing the clock ticking, door creaking and the faint noise of the cooler.

It was a dark barren land stretching as far as my vision could extend. The sky was reddish brown, gloomy enough to scare me out of my wits. I sensed a shooting pain in my head as I walked further and reached a mansion. The door was humungous that reminded me of the old castles I read in fiction. As I entered, I noticed that apart from small lanterns here and there, there was barely any light. Standing inside, my heart pounded faster, resonating the fear and anxiety within me. By now I was convinced I was all alone in that house. Somewhere in the background I could hear the dripping sound of a leaky wall and the flutter of nocturnal birds. I further went ahead and found something terrible. There were three doors which had something written on each of them. The first door said ‘Dope sheet’, the second said ‘News Paper Assignment’ and the third took some time and then showed ‘Journal’. My head began to swell at what I saw as I had to open one of the doors to find my way out. Instead, I ran frantically away from those doors towards my left. Now I reached a point where I had to cross over a small bridge made of bamboo with water gushing below it. As I started to walk over it, I realized that it began to move. The bridge then capsized in no time. Screaming my lungs out I crashed on to the floor the next morning only to realize it was a NIGHTMARE…!

Phew.. ! It took me a while to realize that work had taken over my sleep too. The rest of the day surely didn’t go well either. Every time my mentors came in, that nightmare reminded me of my pending assignments. As Aleksandar Hemon rightly said, “Your nightmares follow you like a shadow, forever.” if not for ever, it certainly did for the rest of the week. Nevertheless, at least it didn’t let me procrastinate any further. ..

Lies of the ‘Devil’

It’s been three weeks since the devil came to Delhi. Every day I open the newspaper, my eyes would narrow down to the news about the devil that has terrorized the city. From what was ten in number to a thousand now, a sense of fear engulfed me. I had witnessed a sign that incited certain thoughts I dreaded the most. I had to make the decision sooner before the devil would devour me too.

So I decided to visit that one place I thought would help me get rid of the demon. While I was walking down the street, I read a sign board that hung on the gate which read “Beware of the Devil”. I stopped to read again. But no, it was not the devil. “It can’t be”, I thought .What was wrong with me? What was in my mind that had driven me crazy was something that I had to figure out. Then I finally reached the building and entered a small dimly lit room. I sat in one corner of the room looking at the huge clock on the wall. The sound of the clock ticking reminded me of the stillness in the room. Below it on the table was an open can of still water, in which the basis of my fear resided. The clock showed 4.30 and someone called me into that room. A person with a very deep voice invited me in further instilling my fear and anxiety within. I told him about the Devil- the mosquito bite on my leg. Hoping he wouldn’t say what I was worried of, the Doctor at Mi gave a broad smile and said “Not to worry young lady”. That very next minute the devil in my head vanished. I had not contracted Dengue...Phew! Thanking the doctor, I walked back and crossed the same sign board that had scared me earlier. It now read “Beware of Dogs”. Laughing my lungs out, I walked home that evening in peace.

A Walk Through ‘Chor Gali’

9th October 2013  

 

A long narrow pathway with bricks of walls raised on either sides. Amid the 15 ft wall and trees that canopied us, a sense of darkness and still silence loomed around the place . As we walked into the lane, the crisp noise of leaves crushing beneath our foot gave it all an eerie feeling. And a little further into the dark alley on a Sunday afternoon,we realised that our footing wasn’t firm as the stone slabs that made the passage was shaky. Nevertheless we decided to walk it up until I looked back to see something and gasped for breath…I was motionless for a minute.
 

In stead of visiting the popular places in Delhi ,I set out to visit the North campus of Delhi University. A huge campus indeed, I was surprised to see the place was abuzz with students even on a Sunday. A few had come to watch a movie in a talkies called Amba, while a few others enjoyed licking kulfi from the local kulfi wala. The melting Kulfi reminded me of how torrid the weather in Delhi can get. So wondering where to head to my friend and i took a stroll through the campus until we came across this place called the Chor Gali ( a lane which thieves used to escape).We walked into the lane until I looked back to see something and gasped for breath. I was motionless for a minute as I could not see the point where we started nor our destination. The ambiguity of the place and the fear that engulfed our minds was a thrilling one. After a 7 minute long walk of uncertainty, we finally reached the other end. Wiping the sweat off our forehead we took a sigh of relief and laughed it out.

An Example Worthy to Replicate

4th March 2013 

A day begins with a hot coffee and a newspaper. But you don’t want images of garbage piles ‘adorning’ the front page of the paper. You snug off tagging Bangalore as the garbage city. But wait…there was a similar instance 18 years back in Gujarat. The city was Surat.



Historically, Surat City was known for its filthiness, a city “floating on sewage water”. Today, it has transformed in to a city with zero-garbage roads, micro-level waste management and responsible private contractors of garbage disposal. It is now the cleanest city of Gujarat.

Surat, 18 years back, was a mirror image of what Bangalore is today. Poor sanitation in Surat had led to the outbreak of a deadly plague claiming many lives. Subsequent to the plague outbreak, the immediate step taken by Surat Municipal Corporation was to prioritize health and clean sanitation and today Surat stands clean after shedding off the stigma of a filthy tag it was once associated with.


What led to the change?
 
Government’s Role:
As an attempt to erode the tag it had earned, a massive clean-up process was initiated by the government. Their first step in the strategy was to clean up the existing garbage mess which involved cleaning of roads at night. The city was divided in to six zones to facilitate a better monitoring of their plan strategy. The next step was to search for private garbage contractors for waste management as well as its transport. From here the solid waste management department would collect, segregate and recycle the organic waste to compost. Along with this, the government revamped the whole administration for solid waste management.  Finance and functionaries were well monitored in all the 52 wards of the city. A “Public Health Mapping” was an initiative that was launched by the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) that maps the health condition, leaking drains, drinking water, sanitation and major diseases’ outbreaks.


Public Participation

The citizens of Surat played an active role in helping to clean by abiding the laws enforced on them. They decided to collectively give their best to keep the city clean as they would be the beneficiary or otherwise depending on the state. A penalty of Rs. 50 for littering was imposed by the Municipal Act of Gujarat and this  was welcomed by the citizens. Also citizens conveyed their problems through grievance redressal cards by which their garbage related complaints were assured to be solved within 24 hours.

For a growing city like Surat, increase in population and urban development were certainly few challenges towards maintaining cleanliness. But participatory citizens along with a responsible administration worked wonders in transforming a dirty city to one of the cleanest in India.

Can Bangalore replicate the same?
Although Bangalore populace is much bigger than small cities such as Surat, efficient implementation can lead to success. Responsive public, immediate and strategic plan to manage waste and prioritizing public health will sow some hope of change in the citizens of Bangalore.

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Surat then and now
                                Surat in 1994                                Surat in 2012
 

A Revered tradition- Cultural Festivities Galore at ‘Kadalekai Parishe’

4th March 2013 

The Groundnut Fair is back again this winter. Adorning the streets of Bull temple Road in Basavangudi, this fair brings along the grandeur of a tale celebrated every year. A delight to visitors and a ritual to farmers, this place offers a variety of groundnuts to binge on. 

An interesting tale behind this fair will make your visit worthwhile.  Farmers who sell their yield here believe that in the past on every full moon day a bull would rage into their fields and destroy all the crops. In a bid to stop this, the farmers offered their first crop every year to Lord Basava. A few years later, Kempe Gowda dedicated a temple to Dodda Basava on top of Basavanagudi mound in 1537 which is the present day Bull Temple. Since then the tradition of offering the first yield of groundnuts has been followed. This belief which began five centuries ago has now transformed into a tradition for the people of Basavanagudi today.


A walk through the fair

Over 200 farmers from places near Bangalore flock to the temples to sell their annual harvest. The fair kicks off with the first offering of the harvest to Lord Basava. The temple is lit up with 1000 lamps followed by a pooja to commence the two day fair. A variety of groundnuts from roasted, boiled, spiced, jaggery coated, fried or raw are on offer.




Eateries adorn all corners of the venue. Delectable bhajjis and other fried items water many a mouth. Sliced fruits, puffed rice, boiled beans, cucumber and sugar candy add to the list of refreshments. Petty shops that sell artistic flower pots, traditional toys, house articles, ceramic and earthen articles grab visitors’ attention. As one walks through the place munching on a variety of groundnuts, one experiences the vibrancy and beauty of celebrating this festival that is based on an age-old folklore. Currently under the ownership of Department of Muzrai and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, this fair brings along the true spirit of festivity in Bangalore.



The fair is said to continue for another two days until Thursday, December 13th 2012. For those looking for a uniquely Bangalorean experience, Kadalekai Parishe is not to be missed.