There is a sense in which I can hear what my colleagues think in the office. I'm not sure whether it is conclusively provable, but the situation is that we are working in a newspaper company called the Statesman. We share the pages we make on a common drive - F, which is accessible from all the terminals we operate on.
The software we use to make these pages is Quark Express. Apart from which as a news agency, we subscribe to wired news bulletin services like the Press Trust of India, Agence France-Presse and Asian News International - which provide us with stories, much like our own reporters do.
I have been working here for a year and a half now, having joined on the 18th of September, 2018. Initially I sat at the editorial desk along with the other editors. After the return of another editor who used to sit where I was sitting, I moved to the sports desk. To my left is a cutout of the page of the Statesman reporting the attack on the World Trade Center on 11 September, 2001.
The pleasant man who heads the sports department in Pulakesh sir. He occasionally speaks with us about sports stories, which we share a common interest in. I was friendly with an employee called Sourya. He has left the company now.
I began with making Pg 9 for Odisha. It does not have as many stories as the other pages as it carries a leisure section at the bottom, with a crossword, a few cartoon strips and a 'Need to Know' section. Debosmita very often helped me with these pages initially. Gradually I began making the pages myself. I place stories, edit them, place headlines, and advertisements.
Once I became relatively familiar with the procedure I began making two pages, as directed by TJ sir who is the senior editor in the news section.
I used to often go back home with Chandan da, who was perhaps the senior-most editor in the company. On one of the rides back he told me that he was actually on his third extension. He has a son in Bangalore who was working with ISRO the last I heard. He has now retired and is in Bangalore with his family.
I have grown comfortable to an extent in this space. Occasionally I would be dropped home with Shekar da. We exchanged cigarettes once or twice. He has a loud booming voice which I often overhead while at my desk. There is a tall man with white hair and glasses with him in the Bangla department - Kaviraj; I hear him often too - has a slight humorous lilt to his way of speaking, and Shekar da sounds a little more serious.
I get the stories I use on the pages from Ravi sir who is in the office in Bhubaneswar. I send him wire stories so he can pick from the crop and choose which ones to include in the city pages.
I often talk with myself, among other voices while making these pages. I would frequently hear Soumyadeep, who is a reporter. A lead dark chap with a bear and a brown leather bag. There are quite a few people in the Bangla section I don't quite know and have not spoken with.
I remember this rather attractive girl called Tuhina who would sit on the other side of my desk, behind my cubicle wall. She had a shapely face and figure that would draw one's gaze, a sing-song voice I don't hear these days. I have not seen her in a while now, particularly since the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic.
TJ sir is often quiet. I rarely hear him, and I am careful around him as he occasionally gets frustrated with me, sometimes loosing his temper. Sylvia ma'am is the senior most woman editor on the news desk. In the corner, besides where Prashanto da's room ends sits Shaoli - a very pretty girl with a voice that always seems relaxed.
After making pages we take them to the designers who color correct the pictures and ensure all the boxes are in order, logos and everything. The intermission before this period however is when i hear, in a sense, how the people in our office respond or perhaps react to very slight thoughts, those that your could only hear in your own head, and at most in a whisper under your breath.
I speak with these voices. The one I hear most often is Shekhar da's. If I have trouble with how I think about approaching a love interest for instance, he often puts my own words across to me in a way that allows me to approach the subject differently. Perhaps it is as simple as a new interpretation of a thought.
Rarely, I am agitated about circumstances at home - and coming to the office and sitting down to make my page is therapeutic - as long as the conversation doesn't get very aggressive.
I have been working here for a year and a half now, having joined on the 18th of September, 2018. Initially I sat at the editorial desk along with the other editors. After the return of another editor who used to sit where I was sitting, I moved to the sports desk. To my left is a cutout of the page of the Statesman reporting the attack on the World Trade Center on 11 September, 2001.
The pleasant man who heads the sports department in Pulakesh sir. He occasionally speaks with us about sports stories, which we share a common interest in. I was friendly with an employee called Sourya. He has left the company now.
I began with making Pg 9 for Odisha. It does not have as many stories as the other pages as it carries a leisure section at the bottom, with a crossword, a few cartoon strips and a 'Need to Know' section. Debosmita very often helped me with these pages initially. Gradually I began making the pages myself. I place stories, edit them, place headlines, and advertisements.
Once I became relatively familiar with the procedure I began making two pages, as directed by TJ sir who is the senior editor in the news section.
I used to often go back home with Chandan da, who was perhaps the senior-most editor in the company. On one of the rides back he told me that he was actually on his third extension. He has a son in Bangalore who was working with ISRO the last I heard. He has now retired and is in Bangalore with his family.
I have grown comfortable to an extent in this space. Occasionally I would be dropped home with Shekar da. We exchanged cigarettes once or twice. He has a loud booming voice which I often overhead while at my desk. There is a tall man with white hair and glasses with him in the Bangla department - Kaviraj; I hear him often too - has a slight humorous lilt to his way of speaking, and Shekar da sounds a little more serious.
I get the stories I use on the pages from Ravi sir who is in the office in Bhubaneswar. I send him wire stories so he can pick from the crop and choose which ones to include in the city pages.
I often talk with myself, among other voices while making these pages. I would frequently hear Soumyadeep, who is a reporter. A lead dark chap with a bear and a brown leather bag. There are quite a few people in the Bangla section I don't quite know and have not spoken with.
I remember this rather attractive girl called Tuhina who would sit on the other side of my desk, behind my cubicle wall. She had a shapely face and figure that would draw one's gaze, a sing-song voice I don't hear these days. I have not seen her in a while now, particularly since the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic.
TJ sir is often quiet. I rarely hear him, and I am careful around him as he occasionally gets frustrated with me, sometimes loosing his temper. Sylvia ma'am is the senior most woman editor on the news desk. In the corner, besides where Prashanto da's room ends sits Shaoli - a very pretty girl with a voice that always seems relaxed.
After making pages we take them to the designers who color correct the pictures and ensure all the boxes are in order, logos and everything. The intermission before this period however is when i hear, in a sense, how the people in our office respond or perhaps react to very slight thoughts, those that your could only hear in your own head, and at most in a whisper under your breath.
I speak with these voices. The one I hear most often is Shekhar da's. If I have trouble with how I think about approaching a love interest for instance, he often puts my own words across to me in a way that allows me to approach the subject differently. Perhaps it is as simple as a new interpretation of a thought.
Rarely, I am agitated about circumstances at home - and coming to the office and sitting down to make my page is therapeutic - as long as the conversation doesn't get very aggressive.
No comments:
Post a Comment