Kya 'Bath' hai!

Friends, Romans and My Countrymen! Lend me your eyes… for this time I am going to take you around one of England's most beautiful places. A testimony proclaiming the grand lifestlye of a roman heritage. It was in 2002 when I was in London when a friend recommended visiting a city called Bath renowned for its beauty. But, my tight schedule did not permit me a visit to the city; dipped and brightened in the essence of Roman architecture.

But as Lady Luck would have it Five years later, Bath was on my agenda for July the 28th. - If there ever be an award instated called the “Drop-Dead Beautiful Town Award”, the English town of Bath in perpetuity would surely win hands down. Bath has it all - a gorgeous location, the best Georgian architecture in the whole of England, the beautiful River Avon and Pulteney Weir, a glorious Abbey with stunning Gothic architecture and centuries-old Roman heritage. It reeks of Jane Austen’s style of gentility indeed; the legendary English author lived in the city, which now boasts of a museum in her honour which is stunningly photogenic. Put simply, Bath is a must-visit for any tourist in England.

The most popular attraction of the city is the Romans Bath Museum which still stands in great glory and delves deep into the history of the hot springs. You can wander and explore far below the street level through the elaborate spa built nearly 2,000 years ago. The Great Bath is a large, green, scummy rectangular pool surrounded by the Roman paving. Imagine… I was wandering on the same pavement that the Romans must have walked on some centuries ago…There remains today, even some of the original Roman lead plumbing.

Artifacts displayed folded strips of lead with curses written out by irked Romans who tossed them into the spring to ask Goddess Minerva for some cosmic payback against their enemies. I was intrigued by the Roman central heating system for the hot rooms. Much of Bath's look dates to a housing boom in the 1700s as the wealthy escaped dreary London to take the waters, socialize and enjoy their wealth. I remember reading somewhere that Bath was founded in 1AD by the Romans who chose to settle beside the only hot springs in the country. Hence the name. No first-time visit to Bath would be complete without a visit to the Roman Bath Museum and the Pump House. If you're really brave, you can "take the waters" at the Pump Room - as the Romans and genteel Englishmen did over a millennium-and-a-half later - for their allegedly therapeutic qualities. Be warned, however, "the waters" taste bloody horrible and you might just end up running to a nearby pub soon after.

By 400 AD and the end of the Roman influence in England, Bath had been abandoned. It remained a relative ghost town for hundreds of years until its rejuvenation began with the wool trade in the 15th Century and by the 18th Century; Bath was at the height of fashion. Architects queued up to design and build the many fine Georgian buildings that survive today. After London itself, Bath became the ultimate society address.

Which is where Jane Austen comes in! Interest in the premier English high society satirist has never been higher since Hollywood re-discovered the period costume drama. If you're in Bath and you have a penchant for all things Austen, check out ‘The Jane Austen Centre’. This is a newly installed permanent exhibition, which tells the story of Austen's experiences in Bath and the effect that living in the city had on her writing.

Other must-sees include Bath Abbey and Royal Crescent. The Abbey stands grandly alongside the Roman Baths Museum. A Roman statue stands over the Abbey, which was built in 1499 by Bishop Oliver King. The Royal Crescent reminds you of all those picture postcards you find in every brochure that touches upon Bath. The Royal Crescent is a shining example of the balanced, elegant Georgian architecture. Built in the warm, creamy limestone of the region, the semicircular structure is essentially a big condo. John Wood the Younger built it from 1767-1774 to house the rich, famous and distinguished people of his day. Nearly 250 years later, it's still prime real estate. But even the middle class can gain entrance today. There's a luxury hotel, The Royal Crescent Hotel and Bath House Spa, and (for those with a less stratospheric budget) a museum at one end of the crescent.

Being a small city, Bath is a wonderfully compact place and most of its attractions are within walking distance of each other. With an interesting selection of museums, galleries, musical events, restaurants and gracious parks, visitors to Bath can choose from all the very best of past and present.

'Et tu Brute?' Do not miss it!

For those looking for some Tourist Info on Bath, England

• Visit http://visitbath.co.uk/ or Call (011) 44-870-444-6442.


• 90 minutes By train from London Paddington, and 15 miles from Bristol International Airport; http://visitbath.co.uk/site/travel-and-maps .


• National Express bus from London Victoria or Heathrow is cheaper than the train and nearly as fast; http://www.nationalexpress.com/ .


• Thermae Bath Spa: Hot Bath Street, Bath; http://www.thermaebathspa.com/ or (011) 44-1225-33-1234. Weekday packages $130-340.


• Other attractions - Roman Baths Museum, No. 1 Royal Crescent, Bath Abbey and Jane Austen Centre. The Mayor's Corps of Honorary Guides offers free two-hour tours, various times daily; http://visitbath.co.uk/site/tours/tours-round-up .


• Accommodations - Three Abbey Green, restored 17th century townhouse with excellent breakfast, $170-350 a night; http://www.threeabbeygreen.com/ or (011) 44-1225-428558. The Henry guest house, 6 Henry St., $70-170 a night; http://www.thehenry.com/ or (011) 44-1225-424052. Both require minimum two nights for Friday or Saturday.

Stonehenge

Our childhood dreams are mere pictures of what we want to capture in front of our eyes…. Well I’ve had my chance… I have always been intrigued by the Stonehenge in England. In the last six years I have visited the UK a couple of times but could never make it to the Stonehenge. This time around I made it. 22nd July 2007 and I was standing right in front of them - during my stay at Bournemouth I managed to plan a visit to the place. Hired a taxi and zoomed towards it.
The intensity and curiosity to see Stonehenge was growing with the acceleration of the car moving towards my dream place. I have always wondered about the mystery and strangeness surrounding Stonehenge. What is it? Why was it built? Why is so famous? Does it really matter so much? What was it that made it what it is?

After driving for miles through the rolling hills and planes of the English countryside the sight of this unusual structure makes people gasp. It’s some sort of looming being that seems to revel in its own importance and is aware that people can feel its power too… It taunts us with its mystery. For over 5000 years it has stood silent vigil over the earth. It has been excavated, x-rayed, measured, and surveyed, its age and construction has been thoroughly researched, yet its purpose remains one great mystery to the world.



We had to pay £4 .70 for a concession ticket - and we spent around 2 hours going around the structure with a free audio tour. - Constructed four millennia ago, Stonehenge is amongst one of the world's greatest historic monuments; a creation that still provokes awe and wonder. It is angled on the equinoxes and the solstices in such a way that the sun rising over the horizon appears to be perfectly placed between the gaps in the megaliths. This is undoubtedly not an accident, and probably has contributed to the stories of its mysterious origins.

This monument evoked a certain level of frustration in me as It was totally out of context and I really didn’t seem to understand the relevance and the audio tour only gives references about the stones and does not spell out or solve the mysterious existence of the Stonehenge. The surviving pillar of the great trilithon weighs nearly forty tons and stands twenty-two feet tall. It originally had a twin, while a third stone bridged their summits to make an arch. Nothing so tall or complex had been built in northern Europe ever before. It is a technological marvel which is over four thousand years old, but even if that is comprehended, it still leaves the question as to why was it built.



37 frames captured in my digital camera - as the site was great amidst a huge plane which ran for miles with an artistic hue of blue and white brushed across the horizon. My childhood dream came true and on my way back I gathered that it was a construction of a great temple of the sun on a bare green hillside. Almost certainly, Stonehenge is that; a sun temple and a monument of a religion that failed, nevertheless a stunning and wondrous achievement.

P.S. For those who want to visit this world heritage site - Stonehenge is situated around 90 miles west from Central London and is well within a comfortable day trip, either by an organized tour or by independent means. The nearest town with good public transport and facilities is Salisbury, a medieval cathedral city that I already wrote about and is worth a visit in its own right. About 24 miles north of Stonehenge is Avebury, another World Heritage Site with even larger stone rings to Stonehenge and unlike Stonehenge with free access to the stones themselves.

Weekend & Beyond

This weekend has been one trip to the yesteryears and back… and has been quite a memorable weekend at that. Have walked down corridors lined up with looming pillars, have come face to face with life before and after; all echoing voices, emotions and hopes of the times bygone. The inspiration behind my joining my friends for this trip to Salisbury about 30 miles from Bournemouth and 90 miles south west of London was famous Salibury Cathedral.

Long before you even enter Salisbury, the spire of the Salisbury Cathedral looms into view just as John Constable painted it. The 404-foot pinnacle of the early English and Gothic cathedral is the tallest in England. The extra 6500 tons of tower and spire have caused the support columns in the church to visibly buckle under the weight. Salisbury, or New Sarum, lies on the banks of the River Avon, is best known for its proximity to Stonehenge and for its glorious cathedral.

Salisbury Cathedral is generally considered to be England's finest medieval cathedral, and is unusual because it was all built at the same time with none of the subsequent additions of most other cathedrals. This gives it a very pleasing unity of appearance. Construction commenced in 1220, with most of the work complete by 1258. The building of the cathedral also marked the founding of the 'modern' town of Salisbury; prior to that time most people lived a couple of miles north at Old Sarum, a settlement dating back to Iron Age times. Nowadays there is little remaining at Old Sarum, but some of the stone has been taken to Salisbury and used for building the walls of the Cathedral Close. Filled with Tudor inns and tearooms, it's known to readers of Thomas Hardy as Melchester and to fans of Anthony Trollope as Barchester.

Our group toured the cathedral, noticing the floor stones which are witness to the numerous people who lie buried within the cathedral. A sign of the heart wrenching stories unheard and untold that haunt the place. While in the cathedral, I saw a crypt with what looked like potholes by the sides that went beyond the hole. I overheard a guide that the crypt was a sign of hope and healing for the physically disabled who could slip their arms into the crypt and get as close as possible to the saint who is said to have magical powers. Some of the crypts had graffiti which interestingly is a major attraction at the cathedral.

At the charter house, we saw the very historic Magna Carta. Just to enlighten you souls about the famous Magna Carta. Magna Carta is Latin for "The Great Charter"; the famous agreement made between King John and his barons at Runneymede in 1215 and is very significant for the foundation for the U.S. constitution. It is beautifully written in Latin on vellum (animal skin) and contains some 3,500 words, many of which have been abbreviated. It is believed that there have originally been many copies of the Magna Carta of which only 4 have been preserved and the best is on display at the Chapter House, which, according to the docent we had the privilege to lay our eyes on. Amazingly even after nearly 800 years the writing was as crisp as if it was just yesterday that it was fleshed out. The docent believes that it was the iron used in the ink. Time waits for no man or woman in this matter signified magnificently by the oldest working clock of all Europe built in 1386 which still ticks away at the cathedral.

Volunteer guides give free tours regularly every day. Entrance to the cathedral is free and the cathedral is open daily, but there are some interruptions during formal services every Sunday. A lovely glass-roofed restaurant offering a view up to the cathedral spire, and the inevitable gift shop are also onsite. Some parts of the cathedral complex do have admission charges – for example, if you wish to climb the 332 steps up to the base of spire.

One can spend many hours in the Cathedral and the surrounding grounds and not exhaust all it has to offer. It truly is a very enchanting and memorable place to visit as for us standing under the shade of the glorious cathedral building for once time stood at a stand still bringing the past and present together.

Flashback Detour

Let’s take a detour today and go 10 steps back to where this whole thing started. It all started in 2000 when i was a print journalist. The Chevening scholarship (for young broadcast journalists sponsored by British Council ) was always on my mind but my office could not afford to grant a leave for more than 10 days and this scholarship sadly required 90 days. Seven years later lady luck smiled on me and July 6, 2007 - I was aboard an Emirates flight on my way to London to attend the course.

Heathrow airport was not new to me as I have been here on a couple of occasions but this time as a student I could feel chills run down my spine. Anyways, the fresh and cold air did me good and drained away all the tension that I had knotted during the flight from Hyderabad. Excess baggage made me shell out 11k and I had no time to argue for i would have missed my flight and to add to my misery a severe bout of acidity only worsened the situation. A 2 Hour halt at the Dubai airport came as a relief and things finally hit normalcy.

I stayed with a very close friend in Harrow in London for the night and the very next day took the National Express to Bournemouth University with Neha as the other four other girls had taken an earlier bus from London Central.

This year 10 broadcast journalists were selected for the Chevening Scholarship course - Afreen Kidwai (Anchor/ correspondent- Times Now), Chayan Kundu (Principal Correspondent - Zee News Kolkata ), Deepa Chaturvedi ( Senior Producer - Times Now), Deborshi Chaki ( Principal Correspondent - CNN IBN , Assam), Pawan Bali (Special Correspondent - CNN IBN Jammu), Maha Siddiqui )Anchor/Correspondent- Doordarshan), Neha Bhatnagar (anchor/correspondent - Aaj Tak), Jajati Karan (Special Correspondent - CNN IBN, Orissa), Veera Raghav (Bureau Chief- CNN IBN Chennai) and myself (Star News – Hyderabad).

Sharan Lewis - who manages administration and finance at the Media School in Bournemouth University was waiting for us at the bus stop and escorted us to the house. The girls were already settled in their accommodation. I was the first guy to arrive so had the privilege to select the bigger room out of the five in the House no. 29 which was just opposite to the girls house. It was only after 11 pm - Veera popularly known as Vicky arrived and for the first time we both had a conversation which lasted 20 minutes in spite of us having met earlier on 3 occasions briefly in India.

David Bradshaw; the project director of the Media School escorted by Sandy and Ed of the Media School took us on a tour of the Bournemouth city the next day and we followed it up with an English lunch which was changed to suit our Indian palate. A walk around the beautiful beach changed our concept of Bournemouth being a sleepy town.

The sad part of it all was that three guys who were supposed to fly from Kolkata were stranded as their Air India flight was cancelled and it took them over 2 days to reach Bournemouth. However, Veera Raghav’s cooking style eventually followed by Jajatis' made me breathe a sigh a relief as all my worries about missing home cooked food took a back seat.

That brings me to the 9th of July - The first day of the course which began at 9.30 am. Gail Foley - a former BBC journalist and the course instructor took off from where David Bradshaw left off and initiated us into the course with some interesting classes on media. The course seems to be really interesting as it is packed with loads of activities and Gail is really an interesting and articulate person who knows her stuff pretty well. Despite of me having a huge amount of experience - learning is a process and surprisingly I can pack in more knowledge and experience after this whole trip concludes, Be rest assured!

Be on TV - BBC

4 long years of TV journalism and I have enjoyed every bit of reporting being right in the midst of action, Exploring the role of a TV presenter never took my slightest fancy,but as they say there’s always a first time for everything and our visit to the BBC Public Space in Birmingham triggered that fancy in me. Well, there isn’t any rocket science to it. I just had to stand near the dummy studio and click some buttons and everything was set to roll. The tele prompt started rolling and so did the camera and Lo! I was reading the News - a report for Midlands Today with the BBC studio as the backdrop - a dream come true.



It’s not only presenting news but there’s the weather forecast and much, much more. No one could stop themselves from trying their hand at “Be on TV” even Neha, Afreen or Maha Siddque - all known news presenters in India, but poor Chayan - just stood like a mute as Jajati Karan didn't give him a chance to read the news and only when he read "Goodbye" did he realize that the script for the news was over.

And yes! Please do not forget to see me anchoring. - Go to BBC Birmingham's Public Space - Be on TV where you’ll be asked to enter a code. My code is 071619946. Once you enter the code just hit PLAY and I’ll be on your screens. (and mind you this is available for only 7 days from now).



Andrea handles the Public Space at BBC. She took us around the public space and told us that BBC Birmingham's Public Space in The Mailbox has already attracted thousands of visitors since it opened its doors in June 2003. The BBC office at Birmingham makes way for people to explore more and more of BBC Birmingham. For e.g.; with the aid of special touch screens you can take interactive tours around the radio drama and TV studios. The space has a Café, BBC shop and hosts a variety of events. A special viewing glass allows you to look into the BBC WM and Asian Network studios and also gives you a chance to watch your favourite presenters on air.



It took us over 4 hours to reach the BBC office – Though we were tired from all the traveling the visit was worth all of it. Gail Foley was there to escort us and we met Mr Jas; a Sardarji who is one of the production heads, born and brought up in the UK.Mr Jas showed us around and gave us a detailed explanation, satisfying our queries we were volleying on him as if we would start our own channel after returning to India. Even though BBC had such a smooth way of functioning - we TV journalists from India felt it was really difficult to handle TV news in India with the umpteen number of "BREAKING NEWS" cropping up.



Our enthusiasm to click photographs in the BBC studio made us look like school going kids who had suddenly come across some kind of fantasy world. It was Adrian once again, who took us to Birmingham in a mini bus. The only thing he always complained about was our sense of punctuality which we never seemed to maintain. It would take us some time to keep up with the pace and time out here. We desperately wanted to visit Oxford on our way back but time constraints didn’t allow us the opportunity.

Deepa - a senior Producer from Times Now was back with us after a brief illness which didn’t allow her to make out station trips but her resolution for losing weight isn’t seem to working as the temptation to grab junk food is hitting her hard. Maha Siddiqui had a great time exchanging intellectual thoughts with Adrian on our way back - a strong believer in Islam and Allah - the most merciful and the most kind, peace and blessing be upon beloved Prophet- was dressed in western attire and looked damn cool. Neha with her backpack looks like a cute school girl and so did Veer Raghav - a bigger version of Neha. Pawan, Afreen, Jajati relaxed listening to their ipods while Neha, Deepa, Veera and I did some grocery shopping at Asda. It was quite a cool day. More yet to come so stay tuned! Oh! there goes the presenter in me :-)

Bournemouth - Day 5

Traveling half the world across, 9.30 pm sunsets, flat mates from all over India, alien food and getting into learning mode, sure has taken a toll on me. After 4 days of this unusual routine we get our first day off. Thank God for that! Relaxation and Sleep the agenda! What pleasure it is to sleep and know that you don’t have anything else to do.

10 am and still sleeping only to be jostled awake by Deb, singing a Hindi patriotic song. Realizing it wasn’t 15th of August as yet; an investigation was in order since we were right in the middle of English Land. Anyways, the inspiration behind the song was unsurprisingly a young white female right in the middle of our bathroom. Before your mind takes off let me tell you she was just one of the cleaning ladies. I don’t blame Deb for reacting in the way he did – to quote him - 'Pehli baar dekha hun kissi angrez ko bathroom saaf karte hue aur woh bhi Indian logon ka, maaza aa gaya.”

A white female in House no. 29 raised many an eyebrow and who would want to miss such an opportunity? For eg, Jags; our so called Sarpanch used all his talent to woo her by posing personal questions eventually to find out that she was a Columbian and lived with her brother in Bournemouth. Deb wasn’t far behind and turned out to quite a strong competitor. He jumped off his bed as soon as he heard Columbia and shouted "Shakiraaaaaaaaa!" and went on to tell the white lady how popular shakira is in India – The invasion of Deb irritated Jags who tried his best to off track the slim and trim Deb. Seeing the guys and their wooing antics - a senior cleaning lady interrupted and politely sent the Columbian on her way and took up the reins of cleaning our house. Disappointed but not outdone - Deb and Jags volleyed questions for her to tackle - Where can we club, pub and some bars which we could visit despite the fact that none of these guys booze.

Our main chef tam brahm- Veer was busy in his drinks and the newspaper collecting details about how to drive to Southampton as most of the Chevening scholars had to go for a shoot which we couldn’t manage to do on Wednesday. One of our female journalist friends Deepa was down with cold but seemed to have got back in shape, Neha has caught a cold and Deb too has been feeling down and has decided to skip dinner. Today at the boy’s house, cabbage potato curry, chapattis and curd rice was on the menu.

Well, Most of today went in shopping and hopping. A dull day apart from the funny incident that took place with the cleaning lady in the morning. Hope the next few days we have a gala time. Until next time then!

Bournemouth - Day 4

As promised here I am with another eventful day to talk about! Today, we took an hour's bus ride (driven by Adrin our camera instructor) for a special outstation shoot to Southampton - 37 miles from Bournemouth - UK 's busiest and most successful ports. Southampton is a natural deep-water harbour and its unique double tide allows unrestricted access for the world's largest vessel with facilities to handle virtually any type of cargo, making it the most preferred port for a wide range of customers and traders.

Our first stop was ' Unity 101 Community radio station '; a local, independent and voluntary organization which broadcasts Asian and ethnic community music and cultures to over 50,000 listeners. Ram Kalyan a.k.a. "Kelly" is the Station Manager of Unity 101 Community radio and the station reflects the needs and interests of local communities and aims to bring knowledge and understanding so listeners can participate more fully in a cohesive society. At the radio station Neha Bhatnagar and Deborshi Chaki turned into radio jockeys and gave us a glimpse of their completely new avatars. Being On Air for 10 minutes, they fell in love with the mouth piece and couldn't get enough of talking about apna Bollywood - the topic they were given by the show producer and anchor Srirupa Mukherjee. We had to literarily pull them out of the studio. Community radio is really an interesting medium which can make it big in India if implemented properly as Unity 101 does in the UK.

Our next stop was ' Oxford Street's Poppadom Express ' ; a famous restaurant where curry lovers across Hampshire enjoy a feast of spicy delights. This modern eatery is one of three branches across the south that offers tasty and unusual variations of authentic Indian dishes. As soon as you enter the Poppadom Express you are greeted by a cozy bar which tempts you with some appetizing pre-dinner drinks or you could simply put your feet up (not literally or the Brits would throw a fit) and relax after a satisfying meal. The dining area is spacious and inviting, and the staff is friendly and helpful.

After a few days of food cooked by us the Express turned out to be a blessing in disguise and in no time all of us were drooling to get a taste of the delicious, mouth watering Indian food. But, even before we could think of laying our hands on the food, Gail Foley; our course director had a long list of instructions about how to shoot a story in the restaurant. Being a kind soul, she understood our temptation for Indian food and let us explore. Well, let me begin! The best way to start your Popaddam journey is with a glass of house white wine, which costs £3.60 for a large glass, or a pint of lager for about £2.50 along with some fresh, crunchy poppadoms served with dips and sauces like mango chutney and chopped onions. But most of us except 'tam bram' Veer Raghav; (who tried hard to keep away) weren't interested in having a drink.

OK! so to start off we ventured at the starters section - an array of about 12 dishes to choose from, offering everything from mince samosas to onion bhajis. Diners can also opt for tandoori broccoli cauliflower - florets of the vegetables flavoured with garlic, yoghurt, black pepper and cardamom - or Jhinga Til Tinka, which includes sesame seed coated king prawns dipped in ginger, garlic and a lime and chilli marinade.

To move on, the main course offered traditional dishes such as Vindaloo, madras and korma meals, but the more adventurous can dabble in Venison Rogan Josh or chicken stuffed with olives and pimento. The Paneer Lababdar comes highly recommended, cooked in a rich, smooth gravy and is definitely worth a taste.For vegetarians, a delicious delight is Paneer Masala, a mixture of exotic paneer cooked in smooth, rich flavoured gravy. A suitable accompaniment is Tarka Daal, lentils cooked with garlic and garnished with a whole red chilli. Its soft texture and mild flavour complement other more spicy main dishes. To polish off this finger licking meal we opted for vegetarian pulao instead of the plain basmati rice which was tempered with cumin, fried onions and fresh coriander garnish.

Delicious! An afternoon nap would have taken us to heaven! But were denied.

Now that I have tickled your taste buds with quite a detailed description, it's time to get back to what we were actually there for. The shoot! Neha and I wanted to shoot a story - basically a profile of an Indian cook from Lucknow who has been working in UK for the last 6 years and has stayed away from his family. But to our chargin the chef sounded so bored about the whole idea that we decided to drop the story. Gail came to our rescue with an idea about doing a story on the florists right on the street occupied by restaurant. The lady looking after the shop was kind enough to talk to us about herself and gave us time to do the story. The story was colourful and deserved to be shot at length with a lot of other elements. So with a promise to be back on Saturday we left the lady to tend to her flowers.

On our way back we grabbed some really interesting Indian food like Chapattis. Tonight it would be chapattis with Alloo Gobi and the chef for the night at House no. 29 is Jajati Karan. Veer Raghav cooked some rice for himself and me as eventually we were South Indians and had to have our dose of Rice and how can Yogurt be far behind, waiting patiently for us in the fridge. Well quite a mouthwatering trip it was. It's time again for me to push off. That's it for now.

Indian Journalists & Correspondants at Bournemouth University

Bournemouth - Day 3

After several days of the sun being a spoilsport the town of Bournemouth finally showed signs of a sunny day pulling people out of their houses. An alien land; for me it was just another new day and the first thing that's on my mind is to rush to the single bathroom in the 5-bedded-house at the Bournemouth University campus. Any delay would see me waiting until the others could clear the bathroom eventually pushing my schedule on the back foot not only for the media class but also, brace yourselves, for washing dishes - a nightmare which is coming true for me now, simply owing to the fact that I am no cook. – Alas! I cannot escape the anger of Veer Raghav (a colleague from CNN IBN- Chennai) - our main chef since he doesn't like an untidy kitchen and inviting his ire means missing home cooked food - which I have started missing like anything.

To take off for a bit and acquaint you about where I am, I put up at the student village, house no. 29; a mere stone's throw away from the Bournemouth Media School with five colleagues - Veer Raghav whom I introduced to you earlier, Jajati Karan (Special Correspondent; CNN IBN - Orissa), Deborshi Chaki (Principal Correspondent; CNN IBN – Guwahati) and Chayan Kundu (Special correspondent; Zee News - Kolkata.)

Getting back to where I left off, I rushed to the classroom, dressed in jeans, a cream t-shirt and a blazer, thinking that I was late for the day, but to my relief I saw my colleagues sitting on the second floor verandah - as the room was still locked. Being VERY much aware of my friends being capable of goof ups - I walked into the room to find our course director waiting for us. Jajati had mistaken the closed room as being locked.

Day 3 was for camera work and today all of us (5 boys and 5 girls) - were escorted to the city centre park for a new lesson – "How to shoot vox pops?" A lesson of the basics but when we handled the camera ourselves – My first resolution was to ever never shout at my cameraman back home. It is damn complicated to set the lights right with the aperture and the frame when the sun is hell bent on playing a game of hide and seek.

My project partner Neha Bhatnagar; an anchor in Aaj Tak and Headlines Today and a well known face in India is the youngest scholar in the course and would be turning 26 this September. I have a soft corner for her for reasons unknown and she never hesitates to ask questions however silly they may be. She makes me realize how important it is to come forward and clear your issues when in doubt.

Neha and I sat near the Bournemouth Eye; a huge air balloon, with Neha fiddling with the camera to get the adjustments right. She went all out and approached people and convinced them to talk to us for our brief project - on camera work. After and effortful hour we complete our project and Neha, as usual enthusiastically used the remaining time to familiarize herself with the camera by shooting a few more sequences. When we got back to where the others had been waiting, I learnt my first lesson - Brits hate running late. So be punctual! Nevertheless, Gail Foley- our course leader took the three of us back to the university in her convertible - this drive gave a lovely feeling which inspired me to take out my cell phone and click a few shots while on the move. Gail looked cool while Maha and Neha posed for some snaps for me.

Once back at the media school – the 'vox pop's shoots were reviewed. Andrew - the camera instructor- liked the various shoots to a certain extent and appreciated us for showing improvement.
We had to let go of a screening session as we were getting late for the day.

Jajati rushed to the room as it was his turn to cook and Pawan bali (CNN IBN Jammu) was kind enough to offer me hot tea. Pawan is kind of person one would like to spend time with and never be bored. An intelligent woman with a lot of affection and emotions bundled up but at the same time a strong configuration of humanity- in simple terms she knows her character as a human being.
Veer Raghav walked into the girl's room which falls just opposite our house and started humming some lovely Hindi songs making us feel that we are back home in India. To save the day Pawan was quick enough to put on some music on her laptop as Veer Raghav - a Tam Braham - as we call him was getting out sorts sipping at his peg of whiskey.

It has been a long Wednesday and I have to hit the bed as tomorrow sure is going to be another long one. But it promises to be an interesting one as we will be moving to Southampton for a visit to a radio station and shoot a story at a local restaurant as part of our programme. Well I have promises to keep before I sleep so see you tomorrow!