Media backseat

"After all who in their right minds would give up a job that could easily be rated as one of the 10 best jobs in the city to head for Edmund Hillary’s country of wild adventure? Besides I had loved every moment of being in the pulsating world of head­lines and deadlines,” writes Farida Master, former editor of Citadel and Pune Times, in a candid analysis in Citadel Pune, April 2005 reviewing her migration from Poona to New Zealand.

"I couldn’t have asked for more when it came to the warmth, affection and goodwill that I have earned from the beautiful people of the Queen of the Deccan who had always embraced me without holding back. Then why had I committed professional hara-kiri to opt for the road less trodden in a country that was better known for its sheep than the populace? This is one ques­tion people haven’t stopped asking me. To be honest, I haven’t stopped asking myself either. Why did I after years of being in the limelight and hobnobbing with the best minds and faces in the city, choose to be yet another face in the crowd? Maybe it had something to do with exploring the mediascape abroad and starting the uphill climb all over again. Or perhaps it was just the thrill of taking a big risk and learning the varied lessons of life,” continues Master.

Circumstances seemed to be aligned against her initially, with friends dissuading her and her mother suffering a stroke just a day prior to Master’s departure. Since the trip had to be temporarily postponed, she utilized the time to pen Dr Keki Grant’s biography before she finally took off.

Although she had convinced herself that she was "ready to lead a simple life after my intoxicating tryst with fame, I must admit the first few months of being a mere mortal, hurt...I almost suffered an identity crisis. From all that ego massaging and pampering to ego chutney was a reality cheque that I had signed and written to myself...Being spoilt rotten with a moun­tain of invites that have always crowded my desk ever since I can remember, I knew this was yet another chapter of life that I had to flick through and relearn.”

Working with The Aucklander, the largest read weekly commun­ity magazine that comes from the APN media house which also publishes the market leader, The New Zealand Herald, "has been a tremendous learning experience,” mentions Master adding, "Where else would I have got to learn so much at a time when I thought I knew everything there is to know!”

Looking at the positive side of the new, simple life Master states, "I finally have time to detox, reflect and spend quality time with my family, which maybe I was meant to have.”