Worth a share

Switching to a new profession is not easy. If you have experienced it, you would know how arduous it can be. You enter an unfamiliar zone, meet new people. A fear of cutting a sorry figure persists. “Can I?” you keep asking yourself.

For somebody like yours truly who has worked as a journalist before, teaching was an alien territory. Fortunately, my faculty head Tapas Roy in the Future Media School, Kolkata was bang on and entrusted me with the responsibility to make students conscious of Political Journalism. I being not a student of Mass Communications would have fumbled with the theoretical part. But this had to be a different job. “Share your experiences with the students and help them develop a nose for news,” is all that he said. And it worked.

My debut day was January 20 this year. I was nervous. I had never had any prior experience of teaching. One of my colleagues Sushmita Pandit, though was very encouraging. She had the conviction that the students would relate to me. 

As I entered the classroom I saw around twenty young boys and girls staring at me. I was shivering and my hands were trembling, as some of the students later pointed out. My initial feeling was that of apprehension. I realised the generation I was facing was indifferent to anything to do with politics. But there lay the challenge.

“There is a connection that politics has with every subject. Yes, it is ubiquitous,” were my words. And I could see their facial expressions changing. They were ready to learn. You need two hands to make a clap and I must say the positive response from the other side made my day. Over time, I gained confidence and the reciprocity made me feel at home. Yes, there have been those odd dull days, but that’s life.

It’s been close to four months and when I see the likes of Shuvam, Shivayan, Tridipta, Ananya (Das), Aaheli, Manashrita, Vikramaditya, Naman, Vignesh, Anirban, Sourav, Aatryee, Abhijeet, Soham, Silvia, Ritika, Subhro, Sushavan, Ananya (Dutta), Aakash (If I am missing out on names, I apologise) and others, developing a perception on political matters and speaking their mind, I feel happy. When I see my inbox inundated with links and am pursued relentlessly by these students with questions, I have a smile on my face. These guys are inquisitive and that has made my job much easier.

I have seen the darkest of days but a four-month stint with FMS has been a learning experience and I only have my students and colleagues to thank.
Professionally speaking, I am coming to the end of this semester. What the future holds for me, only the almighty knows. But for the first time in close to three years, there is a sense of confidence in me.

No grudge against those who bunked my classes consistently. The fault is mine—I have not been able to motivate them. Yet, I am positive and I owe it to my well-wishers, students and colleagues for being the driving forces behind this rejuvenation.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not indulging in self-praise. I detest it. The purpose of this article is to show my gratitude to those people who have opened a new direction in my life.  As I wind up, I repeat, “A big Thank you.”