An interesting year for an interesting me!

A friend recently remarked, “ Your life is so interesting!” I retorted back in a statement that is characteristically ME. “I make it interesting.”

Life has truly been a roller coaster and I have been someone who enjoys all the high points with adrenaline at its peak and the low points are met with depression plunging so low that the classic cases of clinical depression would concede defeat. This year is past its half mark and I have a list of interesting things to talk about. As many of you know that I joined a new company at the beginning of the year. Working on a map encyclopedia was the first task allotted to me. I have grown up reading encyclopedias, sometimes with genuine interest and on other occasions just to show-off. I am being truthful, at least give me some credit.

This was exciting. Here I was a novice with no clue as to how software is made, what is the job of a programmer and exactly what my new boss wanted me to do in all of this. All I think I know is to write. So with each passing day over the last 7 months I understood my job a little better. Today I am at a juncture where the release of the Maps of India CD Ver 6.0 is almost a reality. Suddenly I can sense the returning of the parental feelings that I had experienced when I was working on the documentary films. I would never I have believed anyone 4 months ago if they argued that creativity can be practiced in a time bound office as well. So excitement I had loads. Interacted with different people. Learned (or let me believe that I learned a little about office life).

These last months were not only about office. Ever since the year began the discussions about me being of an agreeable marriageable age started doing rounds. Friends did not help my case by taking the nuptial plunge. So everyday I look at numerous INTERESTING profiles of eligible Maharashtrian Brahmin Boys. Life is interesting.

The thing that I consider to be a highlight of the first half of the year is of course my passing the audition of All India Radio to be an RJ and then the 5-day long hiatus from office and awesome training sessions at the All India Radio building. It is something that I would want to cherish for a long, long time to come. Our main instructor was Manoj Mainkar. I saw in him Bob Saget (from Full House). Once he started to speak I was floored. The quality of the voice might have been God-gifted, but the amount of nurturing he had done to master the phonetics was astounding. It was this quality that had be all bowled over. Then there were the greats like Suneet Tondon. Someone I had grown up watching and listening to. Learning about western music, handling the studio equipment and to top it all getting diction lessons. The training session was full paisa wasool. The other trainees were an awesome bunch! I instantly hit it off with them. I debuted on the radio in June. My first time was awesome! And the second time even better.

My 24th birthday was a surprise event for me. Office colleagues whom I knew only for 4-5 months arranged a surprise cake for me in office. My Orkut clan too sent a birthday cake at home for me. So this birthday became doubly special as I cut not the ceremonious one birthday cake but I had two!

And then came the fall. Please do not for once think of it metaphorically. These days life has become quite literal in my case. The beauty of metaphors and pun are lost somewhere. I had a bad fall in June and I am still suffering from the aftermaths. No swimming, very little stress on the right hand, no lifting, no getting excited; NOTHING!

To answer my dear friend I make my life interesting. Falling and then recuperating from the injury was suddenly transformed into a weeklong party zone. Friends were invited (read as blackmailed) to the house with the pretext of visiting the ‘ailing me’. I was a monarchial guest at my own house and did not even lift a finger with my dear friends showering me with attention, conferring hospitality and taking care of me all the while.

Though the arm still pains, though weather still is adamant on playing cruel jokes on me by indicting fever and sinus bouts, though some things continue to bother, upset and depress me. Still one thing is constant. My life continues to be INTERESTING!

My First Time

“Your first time will be something you will never forget. The music, the words spoken, the goof ups, the laughter… all will remain with you as a sweet and cherished memory through out your life. You might do it again thousands of time but the first time AH! That will be something that will be with you in your heart for the rest of your life.”, said a senior RJ to me while I was on training in All india Radio. Since that day I was waiting for the first time to happen. And yesterday it did.

I went on-air for the first time in my life, armed with my script, prepared with the songs I wished to play and of course the nervous excitement that was my companion for the day. Eight ten by the studio clock and I was a different person. I could sense the transition in me. I knew at that moment that there were hundreds of unknown people who were tuned in and among them hopefully 10s of my family and friends who would be giving their feedback. The faders were where they were supposed to be, the songs had been all tuned in and in fact the first track was already on air… Hello by Lionel Richie was playing.

Halfway through the song the duty officer decided to alarm me. He came barging in the studio… “What is this you did not announce the name of the show, your name or the song… even a Hindi announcer could have done that?” I was a changed person. Did not raise even an eyebrow. Very coolly I replied, “Sir it is a part of my script. Please be patient and I’ll be saying all that needs to be said and more.”

My confidence (read as pretence of confidence), it seems cooled the big boss and he left me to survive through the rest of the show. The songs and the order of the songs that I had decided upon had, due to technical goof-ups and highly complicated machinery, gone haywire. The systematic version of myself was suffering from convulsions whereas the ‘brilliant-at-the-spur-of-the-moment’ part of me was glad that now I had the opportunity to show off my spontaneity.

So the biggest goof up, if you want to call it that (I‘ll be calling it a close and intelligent save), of the day was as follows:

According to my script I was going ga ga over Bryan Adams and how he never disappoints with any of his songs. To my horror at the late realization, which I blame on the pressures of handling the studio equipment all by self for the first time, Ronan Keating was crooning “You say it best when you say nothing at all.” I was to be on air in 2 minutes and before that the spool had to be cued-in. First thing first I cued in the spools. Went back on my chair and took my position in front of the microphone.

“ Mr Bryan Adams has after all decided to not say anything at all today. But thank you so much Mr Ronan Keating for stepping up and coming to my aid. You truly are the best Mr. Ronan Keating”

This is how I’ll always remember the first time I did IT… hey! dirty minds I am talking about doing my first live show on air.

Do tune into Yuva Vani on 1017 KiloHertz at 8:10 pm to listen to “In the Groove”. A nice show that plays good English music.