“I always had this passion of becoming a journalist from the age of 11. Right after my higher education, I took up UG in Journalism in Australia and PG in Chennai.

I was put into Desk from the day I joined a private company in Mumbai in 2005. Having had time to learn more and get exposed to more cases, I was passionate about becoming a reporter.

After a year, my manager shifted me to Chennai and I joined as a Reporter in Chennai (though I wanted to live in Mumbai).

I was fully involved in whatever story I handled and I made sure I only represented the REALITY.

Soon, after reporting on the beach sand mining case, I was awarded the Ramnath Goenka in 2019 under the Environment category for exposing illegal beach sand mining in Tamil Nadu.

I was approached by HarperCollins to author an unofficial biography of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Dr M Karunanidhi. The book, titled “Karunanidhi: A Life in Politics”, was published in 2018.

One of my most challenging investigations was the acquittal of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Dr J Jayalalithaa in a corruption case. I discovered that there were errors in the calculations and re-did all the arithmetic and published my findings. This led to the Supreme Court finally confirming my findings post her death in 2016.

I received threats and harassment over the coverage of the illegal beach sand mining story in Tamil Nadu. The persecution ruined my relationships with many people whom I had believed were friends. It was a nightmarish period for me and my family. My family was, obviously, frightened and was constantly worried about my work and safety, but never stopped me from doing what was right.

Despite the harassment and threats, I was determined to prove the wrongdoings of the illegal miners and soon after, the Madras High Court too began to find that my findings were correct.

Now that I am in my late 30s, I believe I have become a more mature, calmer person. Having faced tough situations around me pretty much throughout my career, it was initially a challenge for me to accept the fact that I would not be and in fact, need not be the most loved person on the planet.

I now work as Editor-Digital with India Ahead Tamil, a digital platform belonging to the India Ahead group.”