“When was Citizen Matters launched?” was my deliberate question to our editor. I wanted to know why we have forgotten this important date (It’s March 3rd 2008). “Well there are so many dates… umm umm…why… well ya March 3rd…” the enthusiasm in this answer was overwhelming. Yes of course it has to be, just that it was unlike my expression: It is our First Anniversary!! We are 1 year and 15 days old magazine!! It’s a moment to celebrate and it’s a date to be remembered.

For all of you who are reading Citizen Matters religiously (or even irregularly), we have completed a year long journey trying our best  to provide interesting and informative news that you can  use. We have been successful in raising issues that matter to everyone and highlighting efforts made by active citizens. It has been a journey through deadlines and bottlenecked inquiries, talking to numerous people and solving various “tickets”, visiting officials and putting into words what people need to know. All this amidst the helicopter like whirr of the table fan as the background score in the office, the unavoidable ‘music’ of vehicles reversing that keep entertaining us and the regular intervening of rats doing their bit by chewing up our cable wires and also eating up goodies brought to refuel our starving stomachs. Not to forget computers ditching us and power cuts ruining our days. But all this is just a passé at the end of the day, a comment on an article and we know you are reading us. This is what keeps us going.

And what about celebrating our first anniversary… ah I am sure we will celebrate it next year with a lot of excitement. Till then keep reading. Meanwhile I will give you more insights about our office (don’t worry next time, it won’t be about rats) and about the people I meet on my beat. ⊕