What was your first job as a journalist?
As a Trainee Sub-Editor with Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, India.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes.
How is social media changing news?
Through social media, news becomes about the right keywords, the snappy headline, the catchy picture, which it should ideally not be.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Will McAvoy from The Newsroom.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To be the information channel between the common man and the big, glorious world.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Through Email or a phone/video conversation.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
MS Office, WordPress, Zoom, Skype, Google Analytics, NoteTab Light, Slack, Google Docs.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram. It's fun if you 'follow' the right people. Twitter is more crud than information now.
Who do you wish followed you?
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Why did you become a journalist?
To be able to tell the right stories.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
My high school, in India, did not have a newspaper.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Currently working on a story about India's COVID-19 situation.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Compassion goes a long way. Yes, we must always dig deeper for the truth. But being humane is above all else.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Between 9 am and 12 noon (Central European Time).
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I'm not at liberty to reveal the name of the client, but I'll just say this: it was very detailed, professional and to-the-point.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
"Hello, Abrol Sir. I have a Project I would like to talk about with you. Can I please get your phone number?"
What's your favorite drink?
Coffee.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Taking a walk in a nearby park, or a forest, if time allows. During the winter, I'd be in a dance studio, or in the kitchen.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker and Deutsch Perfekt (German).
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That it's "what women do", which is very, very far from the truth. This limited perspective about Features Journalism is downright sexist.
