My career, thus far

Happy birth-day to me!

Jul 22, 1987

I was born in the midst of the monsoon season in Mumbai, India. I could never have an outdoor party as it almost always rains on my birthday.

What led me to this application

Period: Jul 22, 1987 to Apr 1, 2012

I used images from my Facebook timeline to create an online CV to portray how best I fit the role of Social Marketing Executive for Doco.

Musically inclined from an early age

Jul 3, 1993

I started taking keyboard lessons for the first time and subsequently passed Grades 2 and 5 from Trinity College of Music, London. That's me as part of a college band, en route to winning an inter-college band competition years later.

First love affair with words

Mar 21, 1994

I first realised I was good with words when I started hand-writing letters to my dad when he moved to the Middle East for work. Soon the length of my letters competed with that of my mom's. I still wonder what I wrote. And I can guarantee you I had much better hand-writing than Tolkien.

Favourite Movies

May 27, 1998

I liked the turn of the century because it gave me two of my favourite movies of all time - Titanic and Armageddon. I knew entire monologues from Titanic, while Armageddon fuelled my passion for space exploration.

Lord Of The Rings

Mar 22, 2002

I usually think most film sequels are just a means of cashing up on the success of its predecessor. However, J.R.R.Tolkien could not have asked for a better film-maker than Peter Jackson to recreate his Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Needless to say, I'm anxiously awaiting the release of The Hobbit at the end of the year.

Passed my SSC with a Distinction

Jun 21, 2005

I now realise why people say that school-days are the best days of your life, though I cringe when I see those photographs.

First foray into journalism

Aug 15, 2005

During the first few months of senior college, I applied to write for a fortnightly youth magazine produced by the Times of India. I discovered the joy of reading my name in print and went on to collect over 250 by-lines for the magazine (mostly on music, films and entertainment) till it discontinued in 2009.

BMM with Distinction

Apr 21, 2008

Passed my Bachelor of Mass Media (under-graduate) with a Distinction from Mumbai University. During my time there, I also won three inter-college dramatics events and two inter-college talent competitions.

First full-time job

Apr 24, 2008

Four days after giving my final exams (without even getting my results) I was offered my first full-time job which involved writing news, features and ball-by-ball cricket text commentary for clients such as ICC, ESPNStar, AOL, Al Jazeerah, The Sun, Times of London, etc. I also produced audio packages for local telecom clients and did live audio commentary for over 50 international cricket matches.

Going Social!

Jul 12, 2008

2008 was the year I joined Twitter and Blogger. I admit I took my time getting used to both these mediums but four years on, I have 600+ followers on Twitter and an average of 400 visitors per day on my blog. Not bad for a regular person, no?

Live on-field reporting

Sep 15, 2008

Submitted a daily deliverable client list of eight tasks a day: news, reviews, features, analyses, photos, tour diaries, edited audio interviews and captions. Was awarded best-debutant reporter by my team. Thoroughly enjoyed the adrenalin on that tour. Best working experience to date!

Appearance on live television

Sep 16, 2009

While working, I was part of an a capella group/boy band that won a competition on primetime television. We enjoyed our 15 seconds of fame (performing on radio, at corporate events and touring) before our careers led us to different paths. I was also the unofficial manager of the group. We still secretly tell people it was sex, drugs and rock and roll that led to our demise.

Catering to the Fortune 500

Jan 15, 2010

I switched jobs from content to client executive, while still maintaining writing and editing duties. My job duties now expanded into liaising between Fortune 500 clients and the in-house production team; writing and editing e-learning courses on ethics, compliance and legal issues for companies such as Rolls Royce, Viacom, NewsCorp, CBS and Vodafone.

Leaving home

Sep 18, 2010

Left home for the first time to pursue my Masters in Multimedia Journalism from Bournemouth University. I figured I needed to be a complete multimedia journalist because of the way the media was evolving. It has undoubtedly laid a solid base for my career ahead.

Globan Citizen Award winner

Oct 1, 2011

Won the prestigious Global Citizen Award from Bournemouth University. Travelled to Bahrain to work with the Ecumenical Conference of Charity providing financial, medical and personal aid to expats in the Middle East.

Published in Guardian

Oct 20, 2011

Although I have been freelancing since 2005, it was especially nice to have a by-line on one of the most reputed journalism websites in the country for this article.

Masters Production Project well received

Oct 20, 2011

My Masters production project was on the changing attitudes towards reading in the UK. I secured a Distinction for the same and contacted some prominent individuals for their opinions on the topic, many of whom I still keep in touch with. The blog achieved 3000 views in under three weeks owing to social media promotion alone.

Social media and brand building

Dec 15, 2011

I am currently helping Bournemouth-based authors Tricia Walker and Michelle Dry build their social media, blogging and online presence. I am also a content curator for Research Media Ltd and write music reviews and features for Listed Magazine Bournemouth and Southampton.