Thank God you made me quit ANI on a good note......
(the original piece will be posted later)

Yes, I quit Asian News International (ANI) finally on Nov.15, 2010. That was my last day there. I was myself in a doubt, whether I would ever be able to see or imagine myself living beyond working at ANI ever.

My decision surprised many of my well-wishers as they learnt that I quit to join as media consultant at Morarji Desai National Inst. of Yoga (under Depart. of AYUSH), Ministry of Health. It felt surprising also because I opted to not explore or utilise the available options of working in TV channels or rival News Agency and even Economic Times!)

I know I disappointed many a people as much I disappointed the journalist in me. But , at the same time, my decision did delight all those who knew about the untenable circumstances I was working in for such a long time.

It will not be complete truth, if I said that I changed it for the sake of new opportunity.

It is worth mentioning here about the work profile I was assigned in ANI to evaluate my worth for Print Media section of ANI.

In the last five years, I was made the sole incharge of Feature stories of ANI's print media section, the incharge of late evening shift happened two years ago.

On the last day, as an ANI employee, my profile comprised being responsible for Jammu and Kashmir's stories, North East stories, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh stories, writing Ministry of External Affairs's Exclusive Feature stories, handling all political, and international stories related to President, Prime Minister, and External Affairs Minister's foreign visits, Sports (Commonwealth Games's opening ceremony and closing ceremony related all stories).

Ashok Dixit, my immediate boss and News Editor, threw a farewell lunch for me at a fantastic hotel in Green Park and my main boss that I respected the most all these years, Mr. I. Ramamohan Rao, threw another farewell party at the renovated Karnataka Sangha, in R.K.Puram after two days. The gesture of both the bosses touched my heart immensely.

It was a farewell worth remembering forever for its sincere gesture. Honestly stating, I least expected it !.

Regards
Chaudhary Sandeep Datta