On the 10th of May, I was sitting in my office in Apeejay Stya University, Gurugram, when my colleague, Prof Sabiha Farhat, informed me that our student Kipa Ayu needed help desperately. Kipa was to appear for a virtual orientation programme including group discussion and interview for Films and Television Institute of India, Pune. She was in Itanagar, in Arunachal Pradesh, which was under curfew with internet services completely shut down.
Kipa was the shy and silent one in the batch of BJMC 2017-21 at School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) at ASU . It had taken a lot of time and effort for the teachers to make her come out of her shell. What broke the ice was the fantastic short screenplay she wrote for Sabiha Ma’am.
Realising how crucial this opportunity was for Kipa, I immediately called up my friend and college-mate, Harmeet Singh, IPS or Hardy for me, who was posted as ADGP, Guwahati, and requested him to help Kipa if he could. Hardy informed me that there was a total clampdown and no vehicles were allowed to ply in Itanagar, but he would certainly try.
After some time, a police car pulled up in front of Kipa’s home in Itanagar, which obviously had her father worried. But he was informed that Kipa was being taken to the Superintendent of Police’s office, where she could use the internet facilities to take her exam, participate in the group discussion and do the interview. Itanagar SP, Rohit Rajbhar Singh, went out of his way to help out a student. Not for just a day but for three, till the entire interview process was over. Thanking him, Harmeet Singh wrote a note to the young officer that God is giving him a lot of brownie points for this.
Cut to today, Kipa Ayu informed me that she had made it to the merit list of FTII Screenwriting (Film, TV and Webseries) course. To my congratulatory note, she replied, “Thank you, Sir. I couldn’t have done it without your help that day. Means a lot, sir. Thank you for all the help. I can’t express how thankful I am feeling to you and Sabiha Ma’am. Thankyouuu soooo muchhhh!!!!”
As promised, Kipa has invited me to a cup of tea at FTII canteen in Pune. And I take this opportunity to profusely thank Hardy and Rohit, my cops friends in Guwahati and Itanagar. You are invited for a cup of tea here in Gurugram.
Indeed it takes a village to educate a student. Congratulations, Kipa!!… Now the sky is your limit. Go soar!