Ms. Funnybones at Roast – An internship that had me ROFL!
About the Author: Pratiti Bhadra, a student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, talks about her fun-packed journey at Roast and how it helped her grow as a writer.
It all began on a cold winter day when the sun had ceased to rise and gloom hung all over the world. I had browsed everything in hope of finding a tiny streak of sunshine when it finally hit me – the Internshala app on my phone! Sitting there quietly and looking blue, it seemed like a mysterious portal calling out to me. As soon as I logged in, I was bombarded with internships from fields which seemed like unexplored galaxies for me. I updated my resume, added some brownie points from the previous semester’s achievements, and gladly grinned away in hopes to hit the target. Surprisingly, I did that pretty soon. I had been hoping to get a content writing internship at Roast, a unique startup which provided even the most serious news in the world in the most hilarious manner. Finally, one day, an email knocked on my Id. It was Roast! Since this was a work from home internship, they wanted a sample write-up to see if I could pass the agnipariksha. They helped me throughout the selection process and cleared any possible doubt that I might have had. I worked on a few news links and tried to make them as hilarious as possible. Not meaning to brag here but my inner comedian was finally finding the outlet in this utterly serious world. I could feel tiny bursts of laughter bursting in my veins, arteries, bronchioles, and intestines. I was laughing at my own jokes and falling off surfaces making Thug Life expressions in front of everyone. I didn’t know I was that funny. All I needed was a real pair of shades and a cigarette!
Roast was happy with my first sample, so they hired me. This being my first official internship, I announced it to my little Indian community about this latest achievement. The best tip which I could give to wannabe writers is “\experiment with your originality”. Nothing beats an originally sculpted piece of writing which comes from your heart, portrays who you are, and gives an outlook of your personality. What I liked most about Roast was that it complimented my personality to near perfection and that they offered a stipend too! *Sly grins*
They guided me in a stepwise manner by informing me of the bits of information required at each turn. I had to work on 6 small snippets each day which were 6 news links provided to me via email. I was to read and rewrite them in the most hilarious and concise manner possible. I worked not only on the conventional news but also information which would blow one’s sane mind off! On my very first day, I counter attacked the news of a talking dustbin. Who would have thought of that, eh! I might have covered all the topics from Rahul baba obsessing over Pogo to some weird man trying to look like Britney Spears. I developed funny content on serious matters like demonetization, felony, etc. Roast would publish those articles on their website and app with credits to the author. For the first two days, my articles went for a toss when the team mistakenly credited them to another author. I fussed and fumed and emailed them to rectify this. I had even chalked out a plan for a crime if they didn’t; however, neither of that happened!
It was just news, news, and more news sugar coated with Indian sanskaar! The news items contained a variety of content, from ant cocktails in Singapore to getting faulty breast implants. I would study up the links thoroughly, write the articles in a concise manner first and then drop the potion of every vial of humor I possessed. I read so much that I could even impart Himalayan extract philosophy of life. Another set of work was to come up with bomb names for maddeningly hilarious YouTube video links which they would send me in an excel sheet. The limit was to work on 7 video titles each day. However, like an over smart kid, I would work on 20 videos in one go and end up rolling on the floor due to uncontrollable laughter. I had Thursdays off and would spend them enjoying juices served with little blue umbrellas. Sometimes, they would forget to assign work to me, and I’d bomb them with emails so that I didn’t have to work extra the next day.
I have to say I gained some really good amount of general knowledge in the course of this internship. My political knowledge expanded from that of 5th-grade kid to that of a middle-aged Sharma Ji who lives around the corner and refuses to return the ball. Furthermore, my writing skills improved. I could mold any topic and add humor to it which was a pretty tough job since I had to be utterly careful while giving the themes a new touch while preserving its original form. I learnt to put my thoughts in a professional manner and be punctual with my work. Of course, there were a few bumps on the road but they just made the job more appealing. When I received my stipend, I felt so proud that I could have enacted a whole Bollywood movie from the 70s and received an Oscar for it.
The most surprising aspect was the friendliness that the employers showed while I had anticipated Hitler like personalities who would send me to a concentration camp if I didn’t deliver the work on time. There were days when I was unable to do my needful, but I never found them letting a death eater suck the daylights out of me. They just motivated me until I reached my goal. As a student, I took pride in being a rocket model – starting only when my back’s on fire. Roast helped me shape up as a responsible person who completed her work on time and delivered quality content. Studying and working at the same time was definitely a tough combination but as I look back, I feel a tinge of happiness. After all, this internship made me who I am and who I can be!
Exhilarated by Pratiti’s journey? Want to develop some bewildering content? Check out these cool creative writing internships and stun the world with your creativity.
Editor’s note – If you also have an interesting story to share, you can now participate in Your Internship Story Contest 2017 and win cash prizes and goodies worth INR 1 Lac!
