Summer Internship at The Times of India – Rhea Nair from Sri Krishna Arts and Science College
Rhea Nair (third from right) interned at The Times of India and shares her interesting internship story. Rhea is a final year student of BBA (CA) at Sri Krishna Arts and Science College. Read about her awesome days at TOI in her own words.
It was time for summer internships in college with everybody going gaga about where to pursue it and how to go on about it. I luckily had a very kind cousin who knew about my interest in journalism and photography. With his contacts, I had the privilege to work in The Times of India, Nagpur between the 19th May and 17th July. At first, I was very apprehensive about what I would do there and how people are going to be treating me, yes, my very first time in a company, a company with such old roots and culture. I obviously was scared.
I arrived at the times office, all enthusiastic, anxious and ready to grasp everything I possibly could learn, I saw this colorful and sophisticated hall, and people in front of computers everywhere. It was a divine feeling. Because it was a kind of place, I’ve always dreamt about. As I walked to my office, I could hear laughter and talks of Modi and Politics from a distance. I imagined in my mind, this is what I’m all about. People have to be daring, talkative, and creative to be in such a stream and I felt I’m quite in the right place. I saw reporters, photographers, content writers, designers doing what they’re good at. It’s a skill based job so, you just got to do what you do best. After having “observed” my office for quite some time, I reported to the editor-in-chief of the Nagpur times also my Internship Supervisor, Mr Vikrant Shandilya for more insight into the work culture and about what I would be doing for the next 2 months. It was just the beginning folks.
All new city, new people, new atmosphere, new routine, it was like a dream. I was determined to learn. My motive was to learn to live independently and absorb every little detail which was needed for a successful career. I took off on my scooty, got lost a hundred times, because of which I learnt the entire route of Nagpur by the end of my internship.
The first few days, I spent watching the working of the editorial department and how the stories are given life in the papers. It’s an ardent procedure; the correspondents can come up with story ideas or cover events and report.
I was given the chance to give my own story ideas. I came up with a photo feature, “Happy Mornings in Nagpur” which got approved and I was all set for it. Nagpurians, unlike any other city woke up at 5 am every single day and to capture that essence, I set about at 5 freakin am for 3 days and it was a memory of a lifetime. The motivating winds, the moving aroma of Pohe(breakfast!) the energetic health-conscious folk on the roads exercising was a lovely sight. I visited the Japanese Garden, dhobi ghat, cotton market, Itwari, Mahal, Bardi and the flower bazaar of Nagpur. I was overwhelmed with the amount of emotions my camera captured in a matter of 3 mornings. My photo feature was out the next day with well-thought of captions and it was a super-proud moment for me, I almost patted myself on the back. I was getting accustomed to this routine. Next few days I made friends with the entire office and I gave my next best shot at a story idea.
As I went about doing my photo feature, I found this amazing amount of people cycling on the roads and I thought, why not do a story on the “Cyclists Era of Nagpur” and that’s how that came along. The idea was approved and I started working for it. That’s when I truly understood the hard-work that went behind a story. It was 3 days full of knowledge gain, travel, phone calls, people and lot of mind work, but hell yeah, it was totally worth it. The article came along beautifully. I understood the importance of accuracy in collection of information, the method of writing and all the small yet important details matter so much. So that’s done with the story idea part.
Another exciting part of my internship was, TOI being the hub of Entertainment in the media industry, there was chances of loads of celebrities coming to visit the editor and journalists for conferences and interviews, one such day, GOVINDA arrived at office. I was now a part of the TOI family, and was seated along with the other correspondents in the conference hall. Was exciting having to see somebody so famous in a feet’s distance and actually asking him questions! (Everybody fears the Media!)
I could go on about the experiences I gained, but more importantly, This one of a kind, lifetime experience has given me so much to learn, be it managerial skills, editing, proof reading, photography and what not! Apart from the theoretical concepts of management of one of the biggest media houses in India, I was trained on life skills, skills that I’d require when I start working; I learnt the importance of adjustment, tolerance, respect, teamwork, procedure, sensitivity of information, documentation, creativity and innovation. The experience was once in a lifetime, because the first time only comes once. Beginning from the rigid rule book of The Times of India, to its creative office, to the amazing people, to the work culture and all the other bits and pieces of the training, it’s been a journey to remember.
If Reha’s experience motivates you, you can view the latest internships.
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