Clickety clickety.
Ph-ooooooooooooooo-one!
Hey, good story!
Does anyone have Satya Paul's number?
Does anyone have a Nokia charger?
Madam, chai.
Have you filed your story yet? The whole page is hanging just because of you!
Clickety clickety clicke-- oh fuck!
Okay, my story's not working out, I'm sorry.
Bringgggggggg, briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing, briiiiiii--- hey, I said phooooooooooo-ooooooone! Where were you?
What stories are you working on for next week?
Rustle, rustle, clink, rustle, rustle.
I'm going for my assignment, call me if you need anything else for my story.
I need those pictures. Right now.
Has he given you the layout?
Does anyone know how to spell the French attache's name?
Guys, Google's down!
Shit, I'm late!
Clickety clickety clickety click.
Okay, my story's done.
Ah, the music that is a newspaper office at six pm.
| My latest book is The One Who Swam With The Fishes.
"A mesmerizing account of the well-known story of Matsyagandha ... and her transformation from fisherman’s daughter to Satyavati, Santanu’s royal consort and the Mother/Progenitor of the Kuru clan." - Hindustan Times "Themes of fate, morality and power overlay a subtle and essential feminism to make this lyrical book a must-read. If this is Madhavan’s first book in the Girls from the Mahabharata series, there is much to look forward to in the months to come." - Open Magazine "A gleeful dollop of Blytonian magic ... Reddy Madhavan is also able to tackle some fairly sensitive subjects such as identity, the love of and karmic ties with parents, adoption, the first sexual encounter, loneliness, and my favourite, feminist rage." - Scroll |
Sign up for my newsletter: The Internet Personified
|
no wonder the terms melody and mah-lady sound similar. very nicely written.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of music Ms Confessor, did you get my e-mail?
ReplyDeleteWell, at least your day's soundtrack doesn't consist of any of the following:
ReplyDelete"What do you mean there's summer reading?'
"Homework? We had homework?"
"Can I borrow a pen/pencil/piece of lined paper? No, you're right. I haven't been prepared for class once this year."
"I can't believe you're making us read 10 whole pages all by ourselves! Don't you know 'The OC' is on tonight?"
"We have a test today? I didn't study!"
Of course I'll start to look forward to hearing them again in a few weeks.
Cool... you have one of those boys to bring you chai as and when you feel like?
ReplyDeleteNeat idea. Maybe you should work on it some more?
ReplyDeleteJ.A.P.
No pic? Wha' happened?
ReplyDeleteim sure you don't need this to be told, but you make really good reading :P
ReplyDeleteMine would be a deathly silence. With faint sounds of people's keyboards and mouse clicks. Yeah, very faint.
ReplyDeleteWith the occasional use of the wonderful shredder. How I love that noise...
sagnik: Are you calling me a malady? :P
ReplyDeletemint: Yes, yes and reply is on its way. In fact, you should've got it by the time you read this.
amandarama: I don't know. I quite like your soundtrack too :)
penny lane: Yes, but it's not so cool, because I'm one of the rare coffee drinkers, so I have to beg and plead for them to get me my coffee :)
J.A.P: You think? In what way, exactly?
n.a: I didn't think this entry needed a pic, did you?
shreya: We always LIKE being told, we do :) Thanks!
vignesh: Y'know, I'm not sure WHAT noise a shredder makes! :)
Seems like a nice place to work at. I love the concept. :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm...isn't it the chai guy who flirts with you all?
ReplyDeleteYou forgot lots of things such as:
ReplyDelete1) Damn the computer is hanging
2) Oh shit, I lost my story
3) Pickup the phone, I say pick up the phone (that is someone desperately trying to contact his/her source and muttering to himself/herself)
4) Don't blow smoke in my face (applicable for the non-smoking offices - wonder whether there are any left)
PS: Why do computers hang when a reporter is filing an important story? Cause they are in a noosepaper office.... (well, that was my line, that used to calm me down when the computer systems let me down, in the good old days when I was a journo).
Imagine my plight -- am surrounded by non-journo catty marketing people and all I hear is -- 'ei mashe target reach holo na (they are mostly Bong), 'VC with VP in ten minutes!' and, in moments of extreme stress, 'Where the fuck is the Himalaya RO?' (have learnt RO means release order -- for ads). Give me some good old journalistic bonding/bitching any day.
ReplyDeleteNice. Inspired to burn my own cd :)
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky. When frustrated, my Zimbabwean colleagues scream "You can KISS my BLACK ASS!!!" at the top of their voices.
ReplyDeleteVery nice!
ReplyDeleteAnd your coffee man calls you madam? Wow! Mine will throw it almost on my face and say Chaya! (You knwo about the Mallu tea wallah stereotype)
I think Google being down and Phone being out of charge are the two biggest causes of trauma today! :)
sharanya: Heh. Rap style four letter words sounds rather fun actually! :)
ReplyDeleteanurag: It IS fun most days.
zg: I love that. But there are very few "characters" left, nowadays everyone's pretty much the same--young ambitious and selfish :) (Okay, I may be generalising a little!)
raxterise: A shredder that sounds like a mixie? How do you KEEP from eating all day??? :)
ab: NO he doesn't flirt with all of us, just a chosen few, actually just a chosen one! :)
lubu: Actually, we are a non-smoking office, the smokers have to go to the balcony outside. Which is why I didn't put any "smoker" type comments there. And noosepaper office... corny, but clever :)
marauder's map: Why marketing types? Don't you have fellow journos too? But yes, there are many Bong words flying around my office too.. only I didn't know how to spell them :)
gratisgab: Go for it! And tell me when you do, so I can see :)
jay: Ooooh I'd LOVE to do that! The number of times I have almost told sundry PR people to bite me is unbelievable.
vibhu: Off to TC? At six pm? It's called "meeting a deadline before you leave"! :)
primal: He says Madam very grumpily, if that's any comfort :)
some activity! my office is so quiet usually, except when my colleague decides to use his speaker phone and when they shut of the Ac at 6.00 pm. I miss the hustle bustle.
ReplyDelete