R.I.P. Mansi- the could have been ACJ graduate

I cant remember how many times in the past 3 months I ve fallen sick...
Well, for the records, if anyone s maintaining them, I am sick, yet again...
What do I write with a running nose, a burning throat and an aching face heated by some fever?

It has been on my mind to write abt this for a long time now...ever since I took that disastrous entrance exam in an attempt to get myself a seat in Asian College of Journalism, by far the country's best J-School, right here in my beauty city, Chennai!!

The paper had 2 sections: English and General knowledge. I owe it to my considerable prowess (:D) in the language, which is the reason why am now part of the ACJ Family!
The GK paper left me in such a state of demoralisation, I wouldnt want to accept it openly...
Even if I had no clue what the answer was to a particular question, I had the audacity to write something there on the space provided. On embarrassing retrospection, I found out they were so way off the mark, I had myself as well as my frends splitting into long spells of uncontrollable laughter...

That day evening, at home, I told myself and my family to just forget abt me making it to ACJ...
Then the list of ppl selected for the interview level was out...and MIRACULOUSLY (Im not exaggerating, here!!!!) my name was there on the list...it was jus too good to believe, and that is why I say, my English will save me in life :D

One day after the list was out, to which both Asha and Rashmi (my best frends in coll) had made it, the three of us were discussing...yeah...ACJ!!! They talked abt this mail that they had been sent from the management asking them to appear for the interview on a specified date and other details. I didnt remember having gotten any mail from ACJ...and I began to genuinely panic: What if my name had been put up on the list by mistake?, I wondered miserably...

On checking my mail Id again, I had received the mail two whole days earlier and the dyslexic thing Im becomin nowadays, I had missed it!!!!! Ahhhh, the RELEIFFFFF!!!!! :D:D

Interview Day:
After spending two whole days in the company of nothing but newspapers and news channels, I arrived at the Centre quite well prepared. Im sure I was scaring a few ppl with my constant discussion of possible questions and promptly answering them myself a few times or torturing my friends into answering a few other times!!!

My turn to face the panel:
I walked into the room with my meticulously prepared portfolio (which they didnt so much as glance at :|) The questions began:

Q: I see, you've got the Best Outgoing Student Award from Journalism Department in your college...

A: Yes, Sir. I have. (Smiling modestly :p)

Q: I see from your application form, you live opposite Valluvarkottam. What can u tell us abt it?

A: (I gave a whole host of details known to me )

Q: Who is the architect of Valluvarkottam?

A: (Mentally: $%#&@(#&) Errr...I dont know, Sir...

Q: Do you know, Thirukural?

ASIDE: For those o you who ve no clue wat this place is: It is a charriot like structure built as a tribute to the Tamil poet, Thiruvalluvar. It houses a statue of the poet-saint. He is the author of the book, Thirukural, which has been translated into several world languages and provides guidelines on how man should lead his life. It is acclaimed to be relevant even today, though it was composed many several years ago.

A: (Mentally, again: WTF is this!!!!) Yes, Sir. I had Tamil as m second language in school.

Q: Recite one for us

A: (Thoroughly baffled by the direction this interview was taking) * I recited the first kural, popularised by Balachandar's Kavithalaya title music :P *

Q: Why Do you think Karunanidhi (who is the current CM of Tamilnadu and the one who built this monument) suddenly built a charriot like structure for Thiruvalluvar?

A: (Openly going %$&(&*$%&^) I....don't know, Sir.

Q: You seem to have covered the 'Margazhi Season' quite extensively. What do you know abt it?

A: (I tell them whatever I knew about the season and its popular kachcheris)

Q: How many concerts are there in a seson?

A: I dont know, Sir. (I wasnt even bothering to get baffled now :|)

After such questions which brought my morale to an all time "high", I was asked a couple of questions to which I thankfully knew the answers...how come??? Because they were questions abt news in the past weeks!!!! That is how I expected the entire session to progress!!!

Q: What is your area of interest in journalism?

A: (I think this terrible answer was a product of the complete demoralisation I underwent a few minutes back) Social INTEREST, Sir.

ASIDE: There is no such area called Social Interest. Its Social Issues :|

Q: Can you tell us what u mean by the term, "social interest"?

There...that was my undoing I think. My area of interest is NOT social issues, least of all social INTEREST!!!!!!!!!!!! My interests lie in POLITICS!!!!!!! :((

I crapped so badly after that...I dont have the heart to embarass myself in such public glare by recounting what I crapped there, trying to explain what the hell ever I meant.

They finally said: That's it Aruna. You can go.

As, I was getting up...the Dean, Mr. Sreekumar Menon went : "Wait wait!!! We need to ask you the mandatory questions!!!!

I freaked out on hearing this: "What???? The interview begins only NOW?????????", screamed the voice inside my head....

Then they asked:
Will you be requiring hostel accomodation, Aruna?

I must have sighed quite audibly with relief...and that just drew more smirks from the "PANEL"

A: No, Sir. I wouldnt be requiring it. (Bcoz I wouldnt be getting admission int he frst place, I said in my mind voice...and trooped out of the room.

The next one week before the results were out...I put myself thru hell...I dont know why it made such a big difference...getting into this place...it DID!!!!

And finally, the results came:
NAME STREAM
Aruna Television

:D :D :D :D :D :D I just couldnt help feeling happy to a fault!!!!!

Now, its a almost a week since college began...the very frst day began on a tragic note, with one of the girls falling to her death from the hostel terrace the very day she checked into it...

I dedicate this post to that lost life...Mansi.