If
you were to ask me to enclose a one-page note on what makes
me the ideal person for editor, it would be tricky. Very
tricky. I would need to put across my Proficiency in English,
my Extreme Editing aptitude, my Communication and Networking
Abilities and my being Internet Savvy without sounding either
too presumptuous or too modest. I could emphasize the fact
that I have been reasonably successful in penning articles
of varying lengths, covering a plethora of subjects. And
that these range from the flippant and frivolous to the
soul-searching and thought-provoking philosophical pieces.
In various levels of usage of language to cater and reach
out to the target readership. Simple and direct for the
lighter pieces and apt and forceful expressions to drive
the point home in the more serious articles. I could dwell
on my passion for the English Language. I could highlight
my flair for proofreading in English, where I have found
my eyes riveted on typographical errors and errors of syntax
almost immediately on scanning any written material. I have,
to my credit, an acknowledgement from Time Magazine thanking
me for pointing out a blooper in the home page of their
website, as also copies of letters that I have sent to newspapers
like The Hindu, The Indian Express and The Economic Times,
and to magazines like Society, Savvy and The Week, bringing
to their notice, mistakes that had crept into their offerings.
Though,
in my career of almost 33 years in Bank of Baroda serving
in different branches in Chennai in differing capacities
I did not have much scope to utilise these latent talents
save for office correspondence or the odd letter to the
higher-ups to emphasize and put across the 'view from the
other side' expressing the hardships faced at the Branch
level. My penmanship was also deployed by the employee union
leaders to assist in drafting circulars for members' consumption.
My love for the language, since a very young age, made me
a voracious reader. I cut my teeth on Enid Blytons, graduated
on to the Williams and the Billy Bunters and swiftly moved
on to Erle Stanley Gardner, Agatha Christie, Edgar Wallace,
Henry Cecil, Alistair MacLean, P.G.Wodehouse, Ayn Rand,
Richard Armour, Leon Uris, Frederick Forsythe, Isaac Asimov,
Arthur Clarke and you-name-it. At that stage, anything printed
in English would catch my fancy and warrant further inspection.
Perhaps it was this exposure that helped in my ingesting
a complexity of styles and subjects.
Even
during my school days spent productively at the Madras Christian
College School in the English medium under the stewardship
of the legendary Mr. Kuruvilla Jacob, I noticed a flair
for précis writing and I would score substantial
marks in this exercise. I would, later on, indulge in various
levels of either further editing or beefing up of articles
even though it was not required of me.
Though
this does not have a direct bearing on my editorial capabilities,
I could bring out the fact that I have been actively involved
in music - as a singer from a very young age, as a guitarist
and as a drummer during my college days and as a professional
musician soon after. It has been noted that musical abilities
do complement other traits as it broadens the individual's
perspective and also makes one have a holistic view of everything.
Perhaps it has something to do with the concentration that
goes in to ensure harmony and maintaining the beat and the
tempo of the melody and the co-ordination with the other
members of the orchestra. It does make one a team worker.
To
sum up, modesty aside, my lack of official experience is
definitely more than offset by my enthusiasm and my willingness
to do my best in whatever endeavour I undertake and I hope
that this would conclusively tilt the scales in my favour
while considering me for the job.
