To make a career in the media field, it is very important to be creative as well as aware…

Vijayalakshmi Chhabra– Retired Director General of Doordarshan

Vijayalakshmi Chhabra, who has worked as a professional broadcaster over the years of her illustrious career, was interviewed on a variety of topics. Here are some highlights:

What did you envision for your future during your school and college years? Did you consider entering the media then?

I’ve dreamed of entering the media field since childhood, but my parents had different ideas. My father was one of the early engineers at the Bhilai Steel Plant and a gold medalist. He wanted me to join the civil services. My mother, though not highly educated, was extremely intelligent and believed that girls, especially, should become financially independent through education.

Newspapers and radio were especially important in our home. From childhood, we were taught to read the entire newspaper and the news.

Listening was instilled in us to stay current with current affairs and general knowledge. My mother tongue was Oriya, but my father wanted us to be fluent in both Hindi and English.

I listened to news, dramas, documentaries, and discussions on the radio with great interest. I was fascinated by the voices and speaking style of the All India Radio announcers. From then on, speaking well became my passion. I participated in debate competitions in school, and my goal was to speak effectively.

However, at that time, my family had no idea that radio could be a career. My father wanted me to become an IAS officer, so he encouraged me to study in that direction. I came to Delhi with the same dream of joining the civil services.

How was your start in All India Radio and Doordarshan?

Although I started doing weekly programmes along with my college studies, it was clear to me from the beginning that I did not want to become just a presenter but reach a level where I have decision making power.

While working in Akashvani, I saw that the real responsibility lies in administrative posts, that is why I decided to go into that cadre.

I learned that UPSC recruits program officers, so I prepared, waited, and was selected and appointed to All India Radio, Delhi. Thus, my goal was achieved. This journey was not without its struggles. While waiting, I taught at Mother’s International School and then worked at ICCR, where I had the opportunity to learn a great deal.

I always tell students that dreams don’t come easy. Hard work, patience, and a habit of continuous learning are essential. Learning is never wasted. Whatever you learn, it remains.

It is useful in some form or the other throughout life.

Political science, history, Hindi, English, art, and culture all helped me in my career. Even now, after retirement, those lessons are still useful when I write on social media about topics like handloom and women’s self-reliance.

Media is changing rapidly these days, especially with the advent of AI and digital platforms. How do you view this change? Does it bring more opportunities or challenges?

With every change, there may be initial difficulties in adjusting, but more opportunities arise than challenges. I’ve seen a long era of media. I started when large radio sets were in homes. From there, we moved to transistors, then television, first black and white, then color.

Akashvani and Doordarshan used to be such big brands, but there was a period when satellite channels took over TV, and government media couldn’t compete with them for various reasons. But with the advent of OTT platforms, that era is over. Everyone now prefers OTT platforms over TV.

What skills, qualities, and habits should young people today who want to pursue a career in media or broadcasting develop? Is there a specific mindset or approach they should adopt?

There are two ways to enter the media, one is the technical way where you have to do jobs like camera person, video editor, for which you will have to take proper training, the second is the creative way, in which you can learn a lot on your own, but for that it is necessary that you have good knowledge of the language, you should have good ability to speak and write, understand the world, and be aware of what’s happening in neighboring countries. The prerequisites for being a good broadcaster are a good education and avid readership. Keeping yourself updated is essential.

Not everyone can enter the media field. If making money is your only goal, you should pursue another field. Enter this field only if you have a passion for it. Opportunities abound right now, so if you want to pursue this field, you must have an open mind and be aware of the world’s trends.

Even if you want to make a simple serial, you need to know all the news around you so you can add value. If I had another life, I would choose whatever media medium I had at that time.

Do you think that creativity and practical learning are getting importance in today’s education system?

Speaking from my own experience, we are blessed with resources. We are open-minded. We read so much about the world during our school days, so when we go on the international stage, that brilliance is clearly visible. In our school system, special attention is paid not only to children’s development but also to their handwriting, ensuring that they have good handwriting. When my daughter presented her handwritten art paper at the Toll Institute of Art, everyone there was astonished and asked, “Did you go to a good school, that your handwriting and knowledge of the English language are so good?” My daughter replied, “Everyone here speaks English so well, and everyone’s handwriting is good.”

CAREER TIPS

  • To make a career in the new era of media, one cannot shy away from learning technology.
  • In this new era, there’s a lot of competition and career options. Work on what you can do differently.
  • To be successful in the media field, it is important to have the art of understanding the things around you.

– Sonia Rana