They say opportunity knocks but once…well it knocked at my door on an unforgettable November morning. It was the day I was chosen to be Student Editor for “Hindustan Times” Children’s Day edition.  Wow!!! My joy knew no bounds. It was to be a defining moment of my life.
On D-Day I was taken to the conference room by Madam Kiran, a talented reporter who accorded us a warm welcome. Later, I was pleasantly surprised to see five other children joining me. Apparently they were from leading schools from across the city, with whom I had to work for the day. For the first part of the day, we talked to the editors of different sections. The Sports Editor was a young cricket lover who claimed that his section was the most “positive” of all.  He said, “One of the teams win any way. So we go praising the winner. It is as simple as that!!” We entered into a playful debate about cricket having stolen the lime-light before Mr. Surab Ghaswalla talked to us about exciting sting operations.  He even narrated his experience of the Ayodhya riots where he and his photographer were captured and beaten!
HT pullouts editor Neha Dara, the experienced Political Editor Sujatha Anand and Crime Department Editor Debashish came in. We had a fabulous time discussing a huge range of topics from corruption to death threats.  When Mrs. Anand got to know that I wanted to become a journalist, she happily explained, “A nose for news makes an efficient editor”.
Thereafter we ran to attend the most expectant meeting of all – with the “Big Boss” of the office – the Resident Editor Mr. Sowmya Battacharya.  He enlightened us about the features of daily newspapers and compared Indian papers with International ones.
At 5:30 p.m. sharp, the Edit meeting converged.  Edit heads and reporters flocked to the conference room.  We too….  Our faces were infused with a sense of seriousness as this was the meeting that would decide the fate of Page – 1.We zeroed in on three issues – the Indian tricolor on the moon, India having lost $63 billion in six months and the decision of the Supreme Court that constructions on forest land be registered.  The Chief Editor asked, “Which one would you prefer? “ The six of us unanimously decided on Chandrayaan as it is a matter of pride for all Indians. The Editors were impressed with our decision and went ahead with it.  After Page 1, we moved to page 3. After the important Edit meeting we went for a quick photoshoot . All’s well that ends well.  We gratefully thanked the officials who gave us a souveneir. Too soon it was time to depart, to pour out our day’s experience to our friends and family.
Next morning I got up early, rushed to the door to snatch the day’s issue from the hawker’s hands. To my utmost delight our photographs had been published on the front page! I was on Seventh Heaven…. Cloud nine…. Dancing in the air. My mom’s hugs, dad’s kisses, brother’s wishes… phone calls from friends…. What else in life do I want?  Yes…. I want more….  I have to grow more, to make my alma mater proud of me and to bring glory to my nation.

The scoreboard looked bleak. It exceeded the bleak looks of resignation that were clearly etched on the faces of my team-mates.  Brooklyn High School had already scored three goals and understandably, our goal-keeper was having a trying time. Frustration had long since welled up in me and I had not been able to take it out on anyone, in fear of a potential warning from the referee, all of whose decisions today, had suspiciously favoured the other team. I had to admit it. We were looking like a battered, old, weather-beaten side. The ball seemed to be forever moving towards our goal. Our opponents had capitalized on our early lack of coordination tremendously and were now eager to put that final nail in the coffin. …..
(To read further you may write to the author for a copy of his book ‘A Strange Inspiration’.)