Meeting a Journalist I

There have been many unpublished posts from my end in the blog, but this one needs to be sent out.

I realized around Dec 2009 that my life had become quite unidimensional, with Company being the sole focus of my being for past 3 years. Having raised venture capital, I was assured the Company wont die (though growth is still a struggle :( ) and wanted some distraction before immersing myself into work. Being an entrepreneur you only meet three Fs: Family, Friends and Fools (like yourself ;)). After constant prodding from Mr. Ritesh Khera, I thought of replacing the third F with one of the most distracting and interesting species - 'Females'.

Though the avenues were limited (time is a scarce resource, and money was also), i thought of interacting with any female i came in contact with, pretty much in line with the marketing strategy of 'creating customers in uncertain markets' (damn, i hate throwing management jargon all the time, seriously i need a life ;)). Being part of an all guy gang (rapidly shrinking one too!) didnt help either. All the contacts were professional - Designers, customers and ... journalists (this shows that I am not much of a loser, and EnNatura is a media worthy startup;))

So one day in March i received a call from the Technology Review (MIT's Magazine on Innovation). One the other end was a 'fidgety, though confident' female voice seeking appointment. Ofcourse, when someone from TR calls, you give appointment (as if i had a choice ;)) as the coverage would worth millions in advertising spend (million Rs., not $ :)). There was some strangeness in that voice, a mixture of old world comfort and modern chirp, and i was intrigued enough to check out the FaceBook profile of the caller. Again an intriguing 'profile' pic in sepia shade.

I was in anticipation for this meeting, both as it was from the TR and also because of the intrigue of the person. Have also asked her to email me the list of questions, so that i come across prepared (this tactic though came in handy later, for a different purpose ;))

So she arrived on time and I was in the TBIU (IIT D's Incubator) parking to receive her. All jazzed up with sunglasses, red top and black jeans. But it was her gait that caught my eye. She apparently put much effort in walking ( may be she was exhausted, physically or may be mentally ;)). She instantly came across as someone warm and friendly and we started talking, while climbing stairs.

I talked about her educational background (is there any better conversation starter!) and she replied something related to IT ( i was like yawn!!, you are here to write about my high tech, advanced chemistry based printing inks :), yeah right, inks and high tech, dude get real ;)). Then how come she is a journalist and pat came the reply, that she made a career choice late when she switched from IT to journalism ( I was impressed, that this person is doing stuff by choice and willing to take chances, that resonated with me).

As we settled down and started the interview, my preparation came in handy, as i was able to take her very easily through all the presentations and answer her queries, while my mind was busy observing and taking notes:

• A ring on her hand, some sort of astro-related stone
• The purple streak in her hairs
• She was kind of itchy and restless :)
• She had a limited attention span (though this should not be mistaken with lack of smarts, it was all getting registered, even though she comes across as someone lost with that contemplative look in her eyes)

I talked about the stone and she said that her parents are concerned about her career choices and based on some jyotishi's recommendation, have asked her to wear it. An amusing story though i sensed some discomfort which i thought would probe about later.

Then as we finished, i switched to my typical UP bhaiya language and aksed her about her 'purple rangbaazi', she was a sport there and she responded in same lingo, which was very appealing to the UP heartland in me (people say this about biharis and punjabis, but u can also take a bhaiya out of UP but not the UP out of a bhaiya :D). Here was a techie journo talking in 'khadi boli'... 'are rajja!!'

I took her for a stroll around our 'garage operation' which she admired (more brownie points to her) and then for a coffee below IIT D's library. We were talking about her college in Noida, her friends among UP wallas, IIT campus life etc. as we walked. But there was a moment of embarrassment in store for me. As we reached the coffee shop, i realized that i have only 22 bucks in my wallet (!!!, reminiscent of the days when i was broke, though not any longer, my company was paying me a handsome CEO salary now ;), though i think this comes from the my parsimonious habits of the past ;))

She ordered for an Iced tea (Rs. 12) and that left me a cool 10 bucks to order a 'Ditto mango' (my all time favorite at IIT D library). Oooohh! what a close shave.

I changed the topic around where she stays and what she does on the weekends. I was very happy knowing that she stayed in Lajpat Nagar, very close from my place and stayed at a PG (meaning that would be available for dating probably, ;)).

So I said goodbyes to her, ending the meeting with some small talk about story and all. We parted with the customary, 'be in touch' and 'nice meeting you'. Though i realized that it was very easy to strike a conversation with this woman. May she was just plain warm and friendly.

Little did I know that this episode is gonna turn into something so dramatic :)............