Pakistan Review News and Reviews

Sabin Ata: Doing it the hard way

What do intermediate students normally do during their holidays? Intern at some office or go on a much-deserved vacation. Not so in Sabin Ata’s case. The first thing she did was to apply for a job at a local daily – The News International. This happened exactly five years ago.

“I remember how nervous I was, when I was called to meet the editor—Gul Hameed Bhatti. I had figured he was some really tough guy, who wouldn’t have time for a 20-year-old being the editor. When I went there, I was surprised to see a jovial man with a hearty laughter, willing to take time out to listen to me. A week later, I was hired as a trainee sub-editor and had to report to Incharge Leisure page. We were supposed to compile a whole bunch of comic strips.”

Sipping a cold glass of juice, I asked Sabin whether it was easy working there, especially considering the fact that she was enrolled as a regular student at the University of Karachi.

“Yes! It was fairly difficult. The first six months were easy as I was working during my holiday. But in January, my classes at the University of Karachi in the Department of English started. I used to take three buses to come to the University and then three to reach the office after finishing up at K.U.”

“I imagine you’re wondering what on earth possessed me to do that? Simple, I wanted to learn.” So what did you learn? I asked her to which her candid answer was, “I wanted to conceive, perceive and elucidate. And that is what it is all about. Idea and form are the two basic elements for any good writer.”

The doorbell interrupted our conversation. After being away briefly, Sabin returns. “So where were we.” she asks. And I reply with a question about what her duties were at the News?”

“Basically I did the Leisure page but I wanted to write. The News is one of the finest places to start your career because you get to have so many opportunities. And there are so many people who are willing to guide you. Hameed Zaman, Quatrina Hussain and Mohsin Jafir to name a few. I did everything I could possibly do. I made the pages, did feature writing, reporting, wrote reviews and articles, conducted interviews of the former Sind chief Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, Javed Jabbar etc. I wrote for nearly all the sections.”

So when did you decide to quit The News? I inquired. Sabin reflects for a moment and says, “ Well, I had been working for the News for three years and I was offered the position of Assistant Editor in She magazine. It was a very good opportunity.” But what about your education? I interjected.

“I figured that education is a life long process which is why I decided to convert my honors degree into a simple B.A. This is not the only reason why I decided to do this. For two years I had been studying and working full time simultaneously and it had started taking its toll on me.

And then I asked what it was like working at She. “ I must say it was really different. She was a place of ample opportunities, yet a limited amount of leverage. I was coming from an environment where we could eat on our desk, and it was not a nine to five job as we could come at any time we pleased, but She was a 9 to 5 kind of a job where we were not supposed to eat at our desk. Trivial as it may sound, such things do make an impact on your productivity. But it was an experience that helped me in my later pursuits.”

I wondered what it had been like for her working in that stifling environment. “ Trust me, I’d do it all over again because this kind of training you cannot get elsewhere.” quipped Sabin.

So how did you come to Spider? “Easy, I saw a vacancy, applied and viola, I got the job.” So what was it like at Spider considering that Internet is a highly specialized field?

“It definitely is a specialized field and if not new then certainly a relatively unexplored field. I like exploring new horizons to broaden my vision. Working with Z.D (Zunaira Durrani) was fun because being of the same age, it was easy to relate with one another.”

A t this point I asked Sabin what it was like to step into the shoes of an editor. “ It was fun, hectic, exhausting and highly challenging. Words fail me to describe what it feels like when you have the magazine in your hand, which is your day’s and night’s sweat.” At this point Sabin’s eyes shone with a passion and she continues.

“Good God! Can you imagine what it feels like when you realize that this is what people love to read? And you can actually mould their opinion. Isn’t this what power is all about? I had a wonder full time at Spider. No matter how understaffed I was or how pressurizing the job was, I loved each minute.”

So what next… “I’ve decided to quit full time journalism and free lance and maybe delve into the education sector.”

Here I interjected Sabin for the umpteenth time. How do you think your experience, being a woman would help the aspiring female journalists? What do you think should be the modus operandi in this field of journalism?

“My experience was fabulous. May be some would say that I learnt it the hard way, but I think it is the only way. If one wants to succeed, one has to start from the rock bottom and work ones way up; only then can one enjoy the fruits of ones labor.”

And with these poetic words of wisdom the interview came to an end. I came off thinking that there is no substitute for pure hard work.

Nargis Samdani