She had decided that this would be a good career choice for her. Like every other teenager in those days, she had no idea what her aspirations were. But the newsreader's job appealed to her. She had always enjoyed limelight and this seemed very respectable to her. She applied for a journalism course, the institute was based in Delhi. She had to write an all India entrance test for that. She convinced her father to let her appear for the qualifying exam. Rhea hailed from a small town, where there was no centre for the exam. The nearest centre was Calcutta. Her father agreed and booked tickets for her, her sibling and her Mom. She wrote the exam. At the centre, the invigilator was a guy from the institute of journalism in Delhi. Thirty-four years have passed and she faintly remembers the person's comment after the exam. He seemed pleased with her performance.
Rhea and her family had stayed with one of their relatives in Kolkata, then known as Calcutta. That evening they had all gone shopping in Gariahat market and next day they travelled back to their hometown. Couple of month flew by. Rhea and her sibling soon had summer holidays. Her Dad did not have enough leave. In addition, they had a cousin who stayed with them. Rhea's mom wanted to visit her folks. Rhea and her sister were excited to meet and spend time with her cousins. They had a lovely summer vacation for a month and returned back just before college reopened.
Back home, one day, Rhea went to look for some old newspapers. She needed them to arrange her cupboard. While picking couple of old newspapers, she found a huge envelope addressed to her. The envelope was open. She was baffled and peeped in it. Inside was a letter confirming her seat in the Institute of journalism in Delhi. She jumped with joy, then suddenly her eyes fell on the date. She was shocked. The letter came a month ago and the interview date was also over. She rushed to share the information with her Mom and sibling, who were happy but also equally surprised. They all assumed that the letter must have got misplaced in the old newspapers pile. Evening, when her father and her cousin got back from work, she enquired. They both confirmed that they had received it. Her father said that he was not interested to send her away from home.
Rhea was crestfallen and that deep seated anger stayed with her for many years. Her anger had compounded as her father did not even care to share the good news with her. However, of late, as years passed, her anger subsided and now she does not feel an inch of resentment at all. She now realises that whatever happened back then, happened for good.
The world of journalism has evolved a lot and is more realistic in nature. The crew has to travel and film in the most dangerous of locations, cover sometimes the most horrific of stories. Besides, it involves working at all odd hours and is taxing emotionally and physically. Rhea is not cut out to handle so much stress in life. In addition, she also has sleep issues. And she is a person who is more comfortable having her family around at all times. She is an extrovert and is emotionally dependent on her folks. This along with her over sympathetic nature, as she cannot see even the slightest of suffering.
Now in hindsight, she feels maybe her father who raised her was a better judge of her personality then, than herself. She may not gather the guts to thank him personally, but definitely is grateful in her life as she is now surrounded by her near and dear ones especially in pandemic times, where family ties matter the most.
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