#FlashBack : I Wrote To Just Voice Out My Opinion, Little Did I Know That It Would Change My Life

I stumbled on this file last night that has all my old printed articles that were published in newspapers. As I flipped it open one by one, the movie trail of the past moved speedily. Although all the articles are memorable the one that will always remain special will be the article on Graham Stuart Staines, as it was my first article published in English daily. I was 17 then. This incident of burning a missionary alive with his two sons, had made me bitter, questioned a lot of do's and don't s of society, the facts of religion, the hope in humanity and the disastrous differences in faith.

Didn't really expect my thoughts to be printed, but yeah when it did, it made me believe that my timid voice could also be heard 'aloud'.

This incident made the mark of my way to Journalism. It was because of this article Mumma believed that I could make a difference (well, I haven’t done it yet) and also make a career in it.

For a middle class conservative family to think and opt for a not so 'safe' career is not easy and that to for a child who has been a rebel all the time, but Mumma made it happen. She convinced Papa to get my admission done in BA journalism in Bangalore.

Now, that’s no easy task either because I was never away from a family and never alone in a city. But as they say who can stop you when you’re destined to be part of it.

So here I am, 13 years has passed down in a click of a second, I look back and I say it was worth it. And definitely no regrets. Surprisingly, when I read these own words of mine, my thoughts and my inclination towards change still remain the same.

And for Staines family, I will always owe a part of whatever I am today, because it’s this incident that just didn’t make me think, lament and write, but also urged me to voice it over so that it reaches thousand others.

To write is no art, its just an expression of your thoughts and beliefs in a string of words. But what to write, when and why makes a difference. And I guess it did make a difference in my life.

Do read the clipping.

PN: The headline was something else, don't recall what it was but editor changed it, I suppose to fit into that space.