They say 'The pen is mightier than the sword', and Varsha was so intoxicated by the might of the written words, she decided, at a tender age, that she would be a journalist. And soon the teenager was immersed in fantasies of being the best reporter in the country, be the first one to bring a breaking news to the country, bring to notice of the general public certain flaws and subsequent fallacies of the system or maybe even expose some corrupt political figure.
The goal was set and she was ready to do all that took to become a reporter. Graduating in contemporary literature and armed with a degree in journalism, Varsha found herself amidst the chaos of Mumbai. The city which never sleeps was beckoning her for an illustrative career. With always something happening round the corner, the city promised her a good job with some top news channel. Though there was a plethora of news channels already, each insisting that they were the truth-centric people bringing to surface in-depth analysis of daily news, Varsha was glad she was being interviewed by the best in business
Finally she had her first taste of success, when she landed a job with MDTV. The first thing she did was call up her mother back home to tell that she had made it. Her mother knew that sky was the limit for this girl who probably was aware of only half her potential. Wishing Varsha all the best, her mother felt a sense of achievement already. And though Varsha was just at the beginning of her career, seeing her go through all the pains and efforts to reach to this point was fulfilling enough for her mother.
Wiping tiny beads of sweat off her forehead, she eased herself as she faced the camera for the first time, and announce to the world Varsha has arrived and will soon conquer the news world. Yes she wanted to be the reporter chasing stories on the field, but one step at a time was what was needed. Reading news that day was the humble beginning as she donned her new avatar.
News media is no easy place to be in, and our girl wasn’t going to be a meek submissive reporter who couldn’t get news of any substance. Gradually rising through the ranks and bringing better stories to the desk each time, Varsha soon was closer to realizing her dreams. Through the course she might have interviewed several famous people, some eminent businessmen, and few politicians who tried to be as diplomatic as possible and occasional celebrities. "Occasional' since Varsha was not the "Page 3" type, she believed in getting down to the truth of the story rather than the surreal dazzling glitterati of the high society.
Years had passed and being on the field, covering stories had become her life. And the city did keep its promise, presenting ample opportunities for Varsha to dig out stories that others might miss and take them to the editor’s desk. But nothing could have possibly prepared her for what she would report that fateful evening. It wasn't just her, even Mumbai was not prepared!
The news came in soon after a series of powerful bombs had ripped apart the local trains of Mumbai, crippling the very backbone of the city. At the convenient time of six in the evening, the mayhem that soon followed was beyond the fathom of any reporter in recent times. As the MDTV crew rushed to the site for maximum coverage of the mishap, Varsha was composing herself to cover the story. With the preliminary reports at hand, the crew thought they knew what to expect when they would reach the site. They were wrong.
The scene that awaited their arrival was beyond their imagination. There was chaos everywhere. People had no idea what had happened except for a few who realized that gravity of the situation. It took some time for the disillusioned crowd to come to its senses and started helping those in need. Varsha went live amidst all the action, streaming footage of the unimaginable carnage the anti social elements had wreaked onto the spine of the city. TV screens across the country were soon live with images of local train compartments blown apart and human carcasses being taken away from the blast site. Mumbai had probably seen the worst of the terrorist attacks till date.
Gathering her bearings, Varsha started interviewing the witnesses and police official, trying the get an idea of how huge the blasts have been and its impact on the average Mumbaite. People everywhere had condemned this brutal act of violence demanding a nationwide search for those responsible for the carnage and restoring peace back in the city.
Two days went by, and there wasn’t a single news bulletin which brought any news of hope. Everywhere there were stories of people madly in search of their beloved who went from home that fateful day never to return again. All the mayhem around was too much for Varsha to handle. Daily stories of mourn, reports of people missing, many left behind after the sole earning member of the family was the victim of the blasts, was disheartening for everyone.
As Varsha prepared to retire to her sleep that night, she was wondering what would the next dawn bring. More stories of tragedy and despair or maybe some ray of hope with hints that people were healing from the deep wounds of terror and look ahead for a brand new day. Hope that everything will return to normalcy and keep the faith.
Though the people are still mortal, their spirit to live is immortal. Mumbai will soon recover from these bruises and defeat terrorist intentions by showing the world that despite feeling the brunt of such brutality the city will still go on. Maybe that’s the news headline Varsha would like to read to the country the next day. And salute the spirit of the city and its wonderful people.
Being a reporter was never an easy job. Varsha always thought she knew this but probably it was only now, that she was realizing it.
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