Thursday 17 April 2014

Revelling in micro-stories

Facebook has many treats to offer and off late, it gives me immense pleasure to read the micro stories that are posted by my friends. The stories have diverse hues and moods depending on the emotional state of the writer; But whatever the frame of mind, these vignettes of life are presented in lucid prose which is a reader's delight.

Stories have always fascinated me and I believe that all of us irrespective of our age, status, social standing have a repertoire of stories that are waiting to be read and listened to. Some stories are forgotten, some escape the hearer and some are safely kept in the vault of memory. But stories that are shared are the ones that make life vibrant and help us revel in the collective conscious.

My friend Bhavana Nissima and Maitreyee Bhattacharjee Chowdhury were the ones who captivated me with vignettes from their daily life; And, I was impressed how these vignettes shared as status messages on Facebook were an excellent archive of storing ordinary happenings with profound commentries. The instances shared by them were not once-in-a-blue-moon experience which had to recorded as milestones in history. Far from that, the incidents were insignificant happenings which happen to most of us on a regular basis but failed to be seen with awareness and insight.

After reading these micro stories, I have often felt that simple everyday occurances are indeed profound and perhaps will never happen again. For example, a butterfly caught inside the home and trying to somehow find its way out or a mosquitoe that repeatedly escapes the Chinese bat or a creeper that somehow finds a tree to climb on and so on. Even blogs are all about stories - stories of courage, passion, pain, love, hunger, smiles and other similar topics. But writing a post takes time and needs some comfort unlike typing a quick status message wihich shares our stories to everyone who knows and likes us. I call these status messages "micro stories," which make me either smile, ponder, or wonder.

I have stopped seeing Sociology, Psychology and Political Science as mere academic disciplines restricted to the portals of Universities and Colleges. In fact, I see Bhavana's and Maitreyee's micro stories as reflections of the time and state of the society and the individual. I learn much from their updates than I might from a textbook.

Dear reader, care for a story - an everyday one that.




12 comments:

  1. "After reading these micro stories, I have often felt that simple everyday occurrences are indeed profound and perhaps will never happen again."--this never occurred to me but I realize that is so true. It is a form of documenting and publishing this moment. Somehow in synch with a racing society and yet I wonder if patches of this insight can stand in for textbooks that emerge for rigorous contemplation of data. I also wonder is it important to have a scholarly eye or a research eye to document, splice, investigate this moment and present? What are the issues and challenges therein? And yet, I agree this genre is an interesting way by which we are reading the world. Thanks much for the mention in a post as gratifying and close to my heart as this.

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  2. the little snippets, the moments of life do matter
    and string together to make us...and capturing them
    def defines us and how we view/see the world

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  3. Love the idea of micro stories. Sometimes the most profound insights come from observing the small and ordinary things around us.
    Love and blessings, Susan!

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  4. It is from these micro stories that the bigger picture of life is revealed. Love reading them all...:)

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  5. I enjoy reading Bhavana stories since there is always something to learn from. It's a delight to read such micro stories about life. Enjoyed this post:)

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  6. Micro stories - I think you have coined a new term.

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  7. I love reading Bhavana's status updates a lot and you are quite right about how she makes the ordinary seem extraordinary!

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  8. Oh yes I have been reading Bhavna, for a long time but sadly i was away for almost 16 months so have missed on a lot of posts.. Came here also after a long time .. How are you doing ..

    Bikram

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  9. Hey Susannah...glad i came here today...so that i too can go elsewhere and see what you just talked about. Well after a long long time i finally posted one today...pls come and do read my daily story too...
    hugzzz
    Shivani

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  10. I have been reading Bhavna's micro stories regularly on Facebook. A lot is revealed about life from them !

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  11. hey my friend, this sounds quite interesting. off to check out the links. thanks for sharing, susan.

    happy weekend!

    p.s. i linked to your site today!
    xo

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  12. Hi Susan! Thank you so much for stopping by! I really appreciate it. Great to catch up with you. I have a hard time with Google Circle stuff, since your link does not go directly to your blog. I'll catch on soon though...

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