And Rangmuch.TV follows the quote to a T!!!! Lives it, breathes it and consumes it!!! From planning a trip staying outside of the city to the endless preparations needed to actually make that trip; from the persistent demands of the fans to the question bank that tags along on the trip; from the consistent phone calls to the appropriate personnel of the shows to the lugging of the cameras and equipment to the sets; from the warm heat into the cold showers of the season; and the infamous Rangmunch chocolates specially made my Niharika; a new dawn transcending into the dark of the night, the toils continue just to accomplish a goal and satisfy the readers/viewers with the uniqueness of the segments produced by Rangmunch.TV; all one family with designated roles to play along the flawed path to perfection.
As is the premise of Rangmunch.TV to bring into focus the drama behind a camera, I, Alima Kanumilli, wanted to focus the camera on the artists that toil behind the shutterbugs of Rangmunch.TV. I was fortunate enough to meet with my Indian counterparts on the occasion of Rangmunch.TV’s first anniversary, and so was trudging into the field to do the legwork for the portal. Be it the aura of the first anniversary, or the meeting of face book friends face to face for the first time, or the smooth flow of work ethics among the field reporters, it was an exhilarating experience as well as a bonding satisfaction.
I took upon the privilege of penning a few lines about my India counterparts, Niharika Vidayasagar, Swati Ghosh, Neeraja Unni and Navyanka Varma.
Niharika Vidayasagar: Back bone of Rangmunch,TV; no doubt about it. Young and smart, she had the vision and focus to think of an idea, seed it and work hard to sprout it and suddenly her little seedling has grown by leaps and bounds. Of course, she made sure to fertilize it with love, humor and patience. Helming a growing sapling is by no means a small process and neither is taking risks and running with it. Don’t ever get sidetracked with her silly questions, her goofiness, her jokes or her age, because behind is a god given superlative brain that tick tocks all the time! Who said it was easy to stay one step ahead of your rivals, well that privilege is Niharika’s. Poor soul, she never gets a moment’s peace, not even to drink our very own Dinanath’s coffee in Mumbai!! Tch….tch….and have to mention the delicious handmade Rangmunch chocolates again, par excellence!
Swati Ghosh: Gosh! What do I do with this Rangmunchie????? Will need pages to write about her histrionics!!! Jokes apart, Swati is the trunk that holds the tree steadfast. From her never-ending talk shop to her persistent calls to the sets, she is one ball of boundless energy that goes like an Energizer battery! Passionate and very detail oriented, she nurtures the tree with the utmost care as well as handles the artists with kid gloves adding a dash of personal touch. And sometimes does go beyond her normal super powers! A little girl at heart, she easily builds a rapport with anyone and puts them at ease, with the same dexterity she interviews the artists. Be it in penning articles or grilling the artists, she gives it her full attention and beyond, with the standards of Rangmunch.TV always as her priority.
Neeraja Unni: A layered scrumptious cookie!!! I remember mentioning this in one of my personal posts; softly hard at the core, mixed with nutty sanity, softening in the center, topped with a delicious zeal of life and wit! A lady deeply grounded, believes in herself and single-mindedly achieves her goal even as she gives a chance for the branches to spread out in abandonment. A mixture of motherly love and support, never hesitates to throw facts in your face, nothing more nothing less, with ultimate confidence and integrity. She has been my dart -board for my numerous articles, silly ideas and funky thoughts, all taken with a great sense of humor and zeal (and maybe a few punches against her bedroom wall as she dodges my darts!!!)
Navyanka Varma: Unfortunately did not have the opportunity to personally work with her face to face, but we sure did have our voice to voice episodes. The silent supporter, quietly edits all our stuff, transcribes our gibberish interviews to make sense (in the midst of trying to pull her hair out), one of our rock solid branches, who does not back out from calling a spade a spade and if possible spank us if we step out of line. She is the back end of Rangmunch.TV and one of the indispensable anchors actually anchoring us into the boundaries of the portal.
Keeping our dream alive; to achieve anything requires faith and belief in your self, vision, hard work, determination and dedication. We are all born equal, but where we are in life now is of our own making. Every artist, every technician, every writer, producer and director, toil hard to give us 22 minutes of entertainment. They spend a few hours setting up a shot that lasts a few seconds, a few minutes. As humans, let us respect that creativity and hard work that goes behind a camera, behind an article or behind a dialogue. Let us, as humans give the privacy and respect that these artists deserve for working grueling hours just to bring a smile to our lips, a tear to our eyes and varied other emotions to us, that they fulfill as part of their profession. People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing, be it watching a show or creating a show or performing a show.
“Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing.”…….and we at Rangmunch sure are keeping up our end of the bargain and wish to continue to do so.
Written by:
Alima Kanumilli
Writers Gully