A man with ‘sound’ knowledge

By Thomas D’Silva & Jimmy

New Delhi: “They liked my communication skills and my experience”, says Mr. Harish Samineni, the sound engineer who was once a part of the movie crew of ‘Ami’ and currently covering the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi for Games News Service (GNS), Australia.

How did he get this breakthrough? “I heard from my friend’s dad that GNS, an Australian news agency, was eager to recruit some Indians to cover CWG. I immediately grabbed the opportunity”, he said, beaming with confidence. True, he was confident of his skills and he had enough exposure and experience. Thus he became a part of 127-member GNS team of which 70 are from abroad. The GNS works through ‘Infostrada’, one of the biggest media contingents covering the Games.

The CWG-2010 is something very special to him. “I could learn a lot about how media works in the background, collecting and organising data”, he says. While covering the Games, he came into contact with many personalities associated with broadcasting, computer analysis, and other media departments, particularly the so called ‘back room boys’.

It was a long and arduous journey for this 23-year old from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. Sound engineering is his passion. He recalls three decisive moments in his life: first, he was selected to join the sound engineering team for the film ‘Ami’. He proudly explains what ‘Ami’ is all about. Well, it was a movie on superstitions. “Oh, there is superstition everywhere”, he concludes. Second, when he was employed by Radio Noida, the community radio service by Marwa Studio, which we can hear at 107.4 Mhz every day. And the third undeniably is the experience of being a member of the GNS media team.

Talking in the sidelines of the Media Centre at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, he says: “I will be going to London soon for specialization on sound engineering”. Well, there is always something more and new to learn. If Harish, at this young age, could achieve so much, definitely he is a man with ‘a Midas touch’. Luck favours the brave.