1001 nights. That s approximately 3 years worth of nights.

That s also the number of Arabian Nights that Princess Scherezade is supposed to have spun stories for King Shahryar

probably the earliest recorded instance of Prime Time Soap at night!

GR8!, too, has completed 3 years,

bringing you stories of our Prime Time Stars.

On our 3rd Birthday, though, here are some stories

of GR8! s behind-the-scenes stars

Kaisa Yeh PAIR Hai

At first glance, Publishers Anu and Shashi Ranjan seem poles apart. She bursts upon you like a volcano of entrepreneurship whereas, in contrast, his quietness is deafening. Then you go beyond his almost-shy, charming (women realize a bit too late it can be quite flirtatious, too!) smile, and you will find a raging lava of ideas. It s fun working with them because every day is a new idea, a new adventure.

Like most of today s level-headed, socially-committed Big Bosses (Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Narayan Murthy et al), Anu and Shashi balance off the spearheading of social causes (e.g., excellence in TV, honoring women achievers, eradicating female infanticide, tsunami relief, civic welfare) with the pursuit of money an equally appropriate TV Show title to describe them would be Business Baazigar!

Jahaan Jaissi Koi Nahin

No matter how bad our night was, we don t really require a morning-after cup of tea because Jahaan, who mans our Reception and Telephone Lines and greets us the moment we enter Office, has a chirpy voice and cheery smile that brightens up the day instantly (although she will speedily organize a cuppa if the party we attended the previous night was particularly debauched!).

Shaktiwoman

Over our 3rd year, Assistant Editor Renu Bhatnagar has changed some 297 times! Yes, that s right, everytime there s a TVTown party to attend, the jeans-clad Renu slips into the Office loo, and emerges like Superman/Shaktiman in glittering splendor. At work, too, she changes many avatars a day: sometimes Copy Editor, sometimes Copy Stylist, sometimes Proof-Reader, sometimes Writer, sometimes Cover Shoot Co-ordinator

Kashmir Khana Khazana

It s out! Assistant Editor Seema Sunil Mattoo s secret behind her meaty GR8! Soaps is exposed! Her husband, Sunil Mattoo, now runs Mumbai s only authentic Kashmir cuisine restaurant with to-die-for dishes. It s only a stone s throw from our Office, and so, obviously, all of us now are rapidly putting on weight. Seema, though, has remained deliciously slim, but her articles like her GR8! Soap on Aroona Irani --, everyone agrees, are heavy stuff.

Khichdi

Feature Writer Mona Vaidya, of course, does not restrict herself to Kashmiri Khana. She is the darling of the Press Conference-at-5-Star-Hotel circuit. And she has a standing invitation to the best studio lunch in TVTown on the sets of J D Majhethia and Aatish Kapadia s hilarious shows (Khichdi, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Baa Bahu Aur Baby). No wonder, her writing has a delicate seasoning of wit and humor.

Woh Juhu Mein Rahnewaalii (photo: Kokila)

Kokila Solanki, our (ex) Editorial Co-ordinator, had never set foot outside of Juhu. And 1001 nights back, when she joined us, she was too shy to utter a word. And then, in June 2006, she went to London, came back, switched from Journalism, and is now on the Production Team of Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai, which will soon appear on Zee TV. Everyone at GR8! wishes her the best!

Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si

Art Director Minaal Pednekar and Assistant Manager Marketing & Sales, Mohammed Javed, now drive home every evening in Manager Marketing & Sales, Kanishka s car, looking like the 3 brothers in the Hindi Film oldie, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi. Happily married that they are, these guys aren t looking for a stunning ek ladki anjani si instead, Minaal comes up with stunning layouts featuring the stunning ladki s of TVTown.

Saat Phere

Tanu K. Kapoor, our Director in Delhi, who broke hearts as fast as she acquired Ads and conducted interviews in the Capitol, got married to her sweetheart-of-many-years on August 14, 2006. Efficient as ever, mehndi was being applied to one hand, while on the other hand she was on the mobile, interviewing Rajdeep Sardesai for this Anniversary Issue

Mann Mein Hai Vishwas

This is a miracle, mano ya na mano! Sachin Narkar was a thoroughly nice boy who only dreamt about Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova. Today he is a changeling who hungrily pursues TV stars and captures them in their most revealing moments. Yes, ever since the great god Camera came into his life, he has switched from Sr. Visualizer to Staff Photographer.

On the other hand, Graphic Designer Santosh Kamble sends everyone in Office e-mails that are morally and spiritually uplifting, obviously hoping that we change into our better selves. While we are reading his mails, he brings the most heavenly non-vegetarian lunch dabbas to Office, seriously challenging our moral and spiritual selves as we maintain a Shravan fast!

Virasat

Only Mukesh Ambani owns more land across India than P. Thomas John, our Sr. Manager Circulation & Subscription. But only just! Everywhere that PTJ establishes a new vendor for GR8!, he promptly buys some adjoining real estate! His explanation is simple: I am in Circulation I have to circulate.

His able assistants, too, have larger ambitions. Kundan Vartak -- tall, dark, bespectacled, sharp-featured, like an Indian Harry Potter is an excellent Photographher. Pradeep Dhamankar tall, fair and handsome with a floppy fringe like Dilip Kumar wants to be someone else preferably Shahrukh Khan!

Kaun Banega Crorepati

In an organization full of Writers, these guys have the most powerful pens. That s because Ashvin and Sandeep Singh, our Accountants, prepare our PayCheques. Quietly, efficiently, without any fuss, they ensure that we sing our way to the bank on the 7th of every month.

Sanjivani

Vijay, our Systems Engineer, has the best bedside manners of a doctor ever! When a Computer crashes in Office, he doesn t bother with any high-tech tools he simply smiles gently, wistfully at the Computer, like a Headmaster admonishing an errant but fond schoolboy, and the machine becomes miraculously OK! Sakshi Tanwar has been giving us a fair bit of runaround we are thinking of putting Vijay onto her!

A Mythological, any Mythological

OK, the names of our Office Boys sound like a roll call of the Gods from a Ramanand Sagar or B R Chopra mytho they are Ram, Vishnu, Shankar, Kaveri and Surjeet (the odd God out). And they deliver (couriers or coffee) at the super-speed and benevolence of Gods!

Thodisi Khushi Thodese Gham

In all these stories of khushi , two pieces of gham : One, Kokila used to bring us Egg Biryani every Wednesday. She is too busy with Ronit Roy, Smriti Irani, etc. to do that any longer. Two, Minaal and his Art Team used to mimic Dharmendra while they conversed, keeping us in splits. For some reason, they have stopped. Sad. Glum. Gham. We miss the Biryani and Dharmendra.

Conclusion:

Some time during the last year,

I read two insightful books about TV in the West:

Desperate Networks

(how Channels work)

and Billion Dollar Game

(how a Reality Show Production House works).

While these books were as fascinating

as Arabian Nights tales,

I learnt that TV whether in the West on in India

is undisciplined, chaotic, stressful, challenging, energizing

as everyone scrambles to spin stories (like Princess Scherezade)

that guarantee TRPs night after night after night

Over the last 3 years, we have brought you

the stories behind these stories.

And we promise to continue to bring you

all the excitement of many more

1001 nights to come!

Cheers!

Tags: 1001 Nights, GR8, 3rd Anniversary, Princess Scherezade, Shashi Ranjan