Sixteen years ago, to be precise, on April 10, 2009, while leaving Kollam railway station on a Delhi-bound Kerala Express train, I had the dream of becoming a sports journalist like OR Ramachandran Sir of Mathrubhumi daily. After completing journalism course from Kerala Media Academy, I struggled to find a job in Kerala but eventually landed a job at Doordarshan News in Delhi. I soon realised that visual media and life in Delhi are full of challenges.
Upon reaching Delhi, I contacted Ramesh, my senior in school, who arranged an accommodation at Sarai Julena, near Jamia Millia University. Ramesh worked as a technician at the Nokia service center in Nehru Place. He was the one who introduced me to all the Keralites there. Sarai Julena was a miniature of Kerala. Thambi Chettan’s Kerala Hotel, Ali Ikka's Malabar Hotel, Jobi Chettan's stationery shop, and many travel agents who disguised themselves as embassy officials exploiting the dreams of Malayali nurses to become angels abroad. Majority of Malayali nurses working in hospitals like Holy Family, Apollo, Escorts, and Al-Shifa lived in Sarai Julena. My favorite breakfast was ‘Chembavari puttu’ and ‘Kadala curry’ from Thambi Chettan's Kerala Hotel. ‘Biryani’ and ‘Porotta’ from Malabar Hotel added spice to my weekly-offs.
I met Mathrubhumi staff reporter Fahmi Rahmani at an internet cafe by chance. He came to Delhi with the dream of doing a PhD from Jamia Millia University and then worked at Milli Gazette, a fortnightly newspaper published from Okhla. I met Indian Express journalist Fasil at a fruit shop in Sarai Julena. At that time, he was working with 'The Statesman'. I expanded my friends circle through Fahmi, adding the likes of Vahid (Content Writer), Swalih (Fasil's classmate at Aligarh University), Anees, Sameer Babu (PhD students at Jamia Millia University), and Haris Babu (nurse at Max Hospital). It was Sameer who arranged for me a rented apartment in Satya Prakash Sharma's building. Sameer is currently working as an associate professor at Jamia Millia University, his alma mater.
Meanwhile, my close friend Aarsha got a job at the National Informatics Center in Delhi as a scientific officer. Around the same time, Ramesh resigned from Nokia and returned to Kerala. Aarsha lived in Lajpat Nagar. During my weekly offs, we had a walk to Central Market, after having masala dosas from Udupi Restaurant. It was she who helped me by lending money during cash crunch. Aarsha left Delhi in 2011 and, afterward, settled in Texas, along with her family. At present, she is a well-known non-resident Keralite.
In the office, communication was a cause for concern. 90 percent of my colleagues spoke Hindi. Another group who can speak English would deliberately answer in Hindi if asked something in English. I studied Hindi as a second language till undergraduate level and watched Aamir Khan's films. That was my only connection with Hindi. Then I tried to find Malayalis in the newsroom, and traced down Anil Thomas and Shalini Nair. But both of them were half Malayalis who rarely spoke Malayalam. In the meantime, I succeeded in making friendships with Aamir Rizvi, Narayan Singh and Ashok Martholia. Directors Madhu Nag Sir (currently Additional Director General, AIR), Senthil Rajan Sir (currently Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting) Anindya Sengupta Sir (currently Director, Centre for Global Affairs & Public Policy), Deputy Director KG Sharma Sir, News Editor Prakash Pant Sir, Anchor Swati Bakshi, Bulletin Editors Sagnik Chakraborty, Sunaina Sahu and Vinita Thakur provided all the support a beginner needed. I learned the basics of copy editing from KG Sharma Sir. Senior Anchor Mark Lynn Sir provided me with a lot of support to improve my English in a big way.
Meanwhile, I became obsessed with Hindi. Friendly talks with Anchor OP Das Sir and correspondent Kumar Alok helped me to fine tune my Hindi speaking skills. After a few weeks, I was shocked to see a change in the duty chart. My name was included in the early morning shift (4 am-12 noon). I soon realised that I had to do the same shift for a week every month. In no time, the early morning shift turned out to be a nightmare for me. Finding an English voice-over artist was a herculean task in the early morning shift , but anchors – Swati Bakshi, Suhail Akram and Ashutosh Pandey came to my rescue on many occasions. The only relief was having two days off per week. On a holiday, I visited Red Fort and Humayun's Tomb, which showcased Mughal architecture. Trips to INA market in search of Mathrubhumi weekly and Kerala snacks were comforting. I accepted the lunch invitation of Fahmi and Anees on a week-off and had a delicious biryani made by Haris Babu. Madhyamam reporter Hasanul Banna was also there. Soon, Fahmi's apartment became a stopover.
Fahmi, on a vacation to Kerala, had written the trainee journalist exam conducted by Mathrubhumi daily. Within a month, he received an appointment order and bid adieu to Delhi. I continued my friendship with Fasil, and one day, he introduced his roommates – PhD students Rahees and Saithali. Fasil's apartment was a mini-Kerala House, a haven for those seeking admission to Jamia Millia University. During one such visit, I met Riyas (currently Field Officer at PIB, Goa), who then worked as a sub-editor at 'Milli Gazette', and Muhsin (currently News Editor at Doordarshan Kendra, Thiruvananthapuram), then a journalism student at IIMC, Odisha.
It was in Delhi that I faced winter for the first time in my life. Visibility was severely reduced due to thick smog. Even though the temperature was around two degrees Celsius, the early morning shift at 4 am continued as usual. Sweaters, jackets, and mufflers were part of the dress code. Meanwhile, my health deteriorated, and I had to seek treatment at Holy Family Hospital.
I was lucky enough to be part of the sports desk that covered the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the world's third-biggest sporting extravaganza. At that time, Sankaranarayanan Sir joined Doordarshan News as Deputy Director, and I was happy to have someone who could speak in my native language. Assistant Directors - Devan Sir and Vinod Kumar Sir (currently Prasar Bharati Special Correspondent in Dubai) also provided great support.
It would be inappropriate to not mention the two marriages witnessed by Jamia Millia University. The first couple were Anees and Rabiya, and the second, Limseer and Naushaba. I also got the opportunity to meet student leaders in Jamia - Anas, Aneesh, Anju and Shiva, and attended a film festival held at the university. Anas and Aneesh lived in the same building where I lived. Jamia students Hassan Sharif and Shafiq Pulloor, who were residents of the fourth floor, once came to my aid when I was bedridden with high fever. In the meantime, Fasil, who had got a job at 'The New Indian Express' in Kochi, left Delhi.
During my vacations to Kerala, I always looked for job opportunities. I was very excited about the launch of Reporter TV, Media One, and Mathrubhumi News, but failed to land a job on any of these news channels. I left Doordarshan News by the end of 2014, and joined Madhyamam daily in Kozhikode. Later, I moved to Dubai in search of a better job, but to no avail. After returning home, I worked as a senior sub-editor at The New Indian Express and Content Writer (Remote) for two companies in Dubai until 2017.
The metropolis of Delhi was still calling me. So, in December 2017, I returned to Delhi as a Content Auditor at the Electronic Media Monitoring Center under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Satish Namboothiripad Sir (currently Director General of Doordarshan) was then ADG at EMMC. An officer of high dignity and a perfect philanthropist without pretensions of status. I stayed at the familiar Sarai Julena, that too, in the same building where I had lived for 6 years. Once again, I became a regular customer at Malabar Hotel. There were few familiar faces in the streets of Sarai Julena. A good number of my friends in Jamia Millia had completed their studies and returned to Kerala. One day, I met Jayaraj and Shiraz Poovachal, who were still in Delhi, at the Malabar Hotel. Thampi Chettan's Kerala Hotel was replaced by Anees Kerala Kitchen.
Covid-19 pandemic and the communal riots that broke out in Delhi made life difficult. Being stuck in Delhi during the lockdown and eating bread and fruits are frightening memories. When work from home was included in the duty chart, I escaped to my hometown. Although I returned to Delhi when Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, the realisation that nothing would be the same again prompted me to return to Kerala. I said goodbye to Delhi in January 2022. My hopes of getting a job in my hometown failed to bear fruit initially. "Do you know Malayalam?" - a question asked by the interview panel during an interview at a leading Malayalam daily literally shocked me. The HR manager of a leading Malayalam news channel went a step further and declared that they do not consider the experience in English media.
