We are TEN today!

Milestones are always a reason to be happy even if I am the lone one celebrating the same. On this day, in 2008, I had started out the space - A space of my own to store my thoughts, meanderings and reflections. The name did not take long to materialise unlike the thought of keeping this wee space alive and throbbing. Many times, I have been tempted to shut down this blog for I felt that I wasn't giving it much attention. I'm glad that I did not!

As always, I pledge to write regularly, to keep my thoughts safe and freeze them for posterity.

Leaving you with some of my memorable posts:

1. When the house lizard signifies 'home'

2. Forgiving and Forgetting . . . I could add a clause there

3. What stuff is humour made of?

4. Working hard to reverse stereotypes

5. The Journey - A Conversational Post

Here's to many more!

Thanks for sharing the journey of my meanderings and reflections. Hope we continue to travel together in the days and years to come.

Keep visiting!

When time and priorities come between passion and love

Many a time in our lives, we find something that we absolutely love doing and engage in the new-found love most arduously. It keeps us going for a while but after a point, the love is sustained but the efforts aren't. This post is about one such blogger who loved what he was doing but abandoned his love as other life dependent loves kept him 'busy.' The blogger is Sankar Narayanan, who works as a consultant. In his own words, "I started off as a food blogger, but stopped that due to health reasons. So I am diversifying to generic topics." Isn't it strange and worthwhile to wonder about something that was (still is) loved by us, is now being neglected by us. It happens all the time - in relationships, with books, with writing and sometimes we tend to neglect our own selves and in turn start flings with less interesting but other time-consuming affairs. Take my blog for example - There was a time when I used to check my blog notifications for comments and posts from other like-minded bloggers. I cannot say that my time is filled with less interesting affairs. I teach and it is my profession which takes up my time, energy and attention. Perhaps, even Mr. Narayanan has fallen into the same pressure trap - the trap of the overpowering of the routine and career.

We both (Narayanan and I) strive to work towards writing more regularly and meaningfully. He is thinking of diversifying his posts instead of niche food blogging, which he has been doing thus far and that too quite well. You could view his blog here: <www.greengastronomyst.com>. I find myself in awe of food bloggers. Ask me why? They get the opportunity to visit different eateries, sample the food and write about the same in the warmth of their rooms. I don't know how one becomes a food reviewer because I tend to believe that those who write about food should have some background experience on the authenticity and taste of food. If one is reviewing a dish from Kerala, I suppose that the food blogger should have had a prior experience of either living in Kerala, tasting their dishes made locally or should have done a course in food history. Well, I guess that is stretching the whole business of a food blogger too far. Let me stop my pedantic rigmarole and turn towards the existing scenario of showing my blog some love and also cajoling Mr. Narayanan's blog to be showed some love by him.

As years role by, we take everything for granted - relationships, health and even our blogs. In the initial years of courtship/marriage and blogging, we try our best to charm the significant other/blogger by spending time and energy but as the years go by, we are good at giving paltry excuses - Oh! we have been married for so long, Ah! My old posts are there without realising that some gas has already escaped and the whole affair is falling miserably due to neglect. I think that there is no better time to revive anything we have taken for granted by showing some care and promising that in the future we will try nurturing what we once found fascinating and engaging.

Cheers to care! Cheers to love!

P. S.: This post is written for the 'Love Theme' contest by The Chennai Bloggers Club (CBC), in association with Woodoz (http://www.woodooz.com/) and Indian Superheroes (http://indiansuperheroes.com/).

Lessons from my Dell notebook

My blogging and other online activities have taken a toll due to the unavailability of a computer and so I have repaired my notebook, Dell  mini Inspiron 10 and have started using the same. To begin with, inspite of being thankful for the wee toy, I must admit that using this small thing is not quite easy for me. So, along with stating reasons for the difficulty in using this mini gadget, I will also jot down the lessons that this wee thing instills in me.

Being gentle always: My mini one likes me to be gentle on him. if I press any key (esp copy and paste) in quick succession, he retorts by stopping the page from loading. Invariably, I have to wait, press the keys slowly and gently, and then proceed with whatever I intended to do. Similarly if I click on the facebook notifications twice, the icons on the screen quickly become either very large or small. So, I have to be gentle, click once, wait and then proceed. Oh! The joys of a laptop/desktop! Sigh.

Awareness: I am not the harried/hurrying types but there is a limit one can take something in their stride. My small one forces and coerces me to take that one extra step in being aware of something in a leisurely pace. It does not like me opening many tabs at one given time. If I try that and go ahead, the small guy just stops working and is stubborn about staying in a state of limbo for a couple of minutes. I promptly close the online shopping tabs and force my concentration on two tabs at one time. Lessons in being aware of only the essential items are learnt.

Patience: The pages, while working on this notebook, load slower than the laptop forcing me to sit, wait and be calm. I know that no matter I try to press the keys over and over, the little guy will make sure that I follow his speed and not the other way round. In the interim, I have learned to slow down, wait and not get worked up if the page in question does not load the moment I click on it. Phew.

Strategy: For everything in life there is a certain strategy and when it comes to charging this small moron, I have to imagine and conjure all the possible strategies to make sure that the plug, the socket and the notebook are in perfect position. Again patience and awareness make their guest appearances here: I have to first choose the socket that is at a correct height so that the wire can be held in such a way that it is in a certain position, otherwise inspite of everything working perfectly fine, the computer does not get charged so I have to use a strategy where I use a chair to balance the three-pin point and make it sit smug on the plug-point and slowly I use the charging end and insert it into the notebook. If I try to hurry, then the process fails so the strategy is to use a perfect strategy!

Beauty is skin deep: My Dell mini Inspiron has a jazzy design and looks cool but beyond that if one tries to judge the working based on the exterior than one is in for a rude shock. Well, the notebooks have a different philosophy of working and one cannot blame the small fellow. The smallness is to blame - If one is used to laptops and desktops, then it becomes a tad wearisome to work on this small guy. Small is beautiful but also a bit tiresome to continuously work on. So, after all the old adage fits my small man well!

So, this is my computer story! I am glad that I can blog frequently alongside learning valuable life lessons from my wee computer.

So, what have your gadgets taught you? Are you willing to learn from them?


Image: Internet

Seven: Day 7 - 7 Offerings of Gratitude to Write Tribe

I am participating in Write Tribe's Festival of Words from 1st to 7th September where nearly 82 bloggers are writing on the theme of Seven for Seven days - a post a day! Today is Day 7 and the last day.  

 Since today is the finale of the Festival of Words, I thought I will offer my gratitude to everyone who made this festival a beautiful one to cherish and treasure. So, here goes my Seven offerings of Gratitude.
 

1. To Write Tribe for organising this lovely festival which enabled me to dust the cobwebs of my blog and mind and charge ahead with the Sevens.

2. To my dear blogger buddy Corinne on whose wall I first saw the announcement for this Festival. I know that she and Write Tribe are synonymous but WT is a community and Corinne is an individual who also happens to be a good friend.

3. For all the kind souls who took time out from their routine to stop by my blog and jot down a few words on all the Seven days.

4. I came across some lovely blogs in this Festival and I'm glad to have stumbled across them in the Blogosphere.

5. To everyone who put together this Festival and slaved their grey cells to come up with ideas, suggestions and prepared the general guidelines of the Festival.


6. To my blogger pals who were not part of this Festival but showered their appreciation and encouragement on me.


7. And the cherry on the cake goes to my mind which did not play tantrums and decide to withdraw from the seven-day challenge. 


And so thus ends the swan song of Seven! Big hugs and lots of love to all of you who stopped by and dropped a line or two. I shall meet you by and by in the Blogland . . . until then, adieu and wellness.

Image: Internet

Seven: Day 4 - Seven glowing stories that Blogging has given me

Every journey has a story or maybe sometimes stories and blogging is no different. The journey began in 2008 and since then there have been many wonderful stories that have made my blogging journey a treasure to cherish. I'm sure that all of you fellow bloggers also would have similar stories to share. Here are my favourite Seven.

1. Two bloggers who reached out from the virtual into the personal realm and have shared my agonies and accolades. I am yet to meet them but I already feel that I have known them forever. Aswathi and Corinne, thanks for being there.

2. They could have just gone without meeting me but they made it a point to call me and arrange a meeting even if it was for a brief time. I was happy to see the faces behind the names, comments and words. Janaki, Rachna and Sameera - words cannot express how wonderful it was meeting you for the first time. Talking of meeting bloggers, I was following the blog of a blogger based in Belfast and I did meet him when we went to Belfast, N. Ireland and before I left, he presented two beautiful books to me out of which one is about Seamus Heaney, the poet who recently passed on.

3. Some comment just to show that they were there in the blog, some comments say a hello but some are succinct and a blog post by themselves. Steveroni, Zuzana, Nevine and Dawn Sievers - how fortunate I am to read your words in my blog. Maybe you aren't as regular as you used to be but I fondly cherish those beautiful comments.

4. You followed my posts, fell in love with them and simultaneously fell in love with me as well. I cannot mention your name here but I did value your comments and ideas.

5. We started with blogs and carried on with hand-written letters. I treasure your words on the blog as well as on the lovely letters. Karishma, Aswathi, Brian, Prashanth, Sowmya, Aarti, Gitanjali, Bragadeesh, Sruti -- what beautiful stories you have sent me to be preserved. Thanks.
 

6. Once I was working on an academic paper, this was in 2009 when I was few months into blogging. I was working on some translated poems and the translation was done by a poet named Nirupama Dutt. Shortly after, I see a comment on my blog, from none other than Nirupama Dutt. After that comment, we corresponded through emails. Since it was my early days in the blog world, this incident excited me.

7. Once someone from a distant land wrote to me about the uncanny similarities between that individual's life and my posts. That note sent shivers through my spine because I couldn't imagine someone's life bearing similarities to my posts. That person wrote to me on the first day of the brand new year of 2013. Stories such as this one warm me but at the same time amuse and surprise me.


What are some of your blogging stories. Care to share?

I am participating in Write Tribe's Festival of Words from 1st to 7th September where nearly 82 bloggers are writing on the theme of Seven for Seven days - a post a day! Today is Day 4.

When the blog anniversary slipped by . . .

The twelfth of October was my fourth blogoversary but as I was in Assam, it slipped away surreptitiously. I remembered the same but just had to suffice with a smile and a thought from the pages of memory. What if I hadn't written a post marking my milestone? What if I didn't celebrate the lovely passage of years with my fellow blogger friends? What if . . . Well, does anything change if I didn't write a post. No, it doesn't. That I had an anniversary is a fact. Isn't it?

Well, many so called important dates slip by without any big celebration or announcement but the importance associated with those days don't change. Now, what happens if we forget those days? Does anything change? If I miss my sister's anniversary, does anything change. My sister might think that I have forgotten in the humdrum of life but does that change anything for her. Minus the emotional feelings, nothing.

Are remembering dates all that important? A tricky question when it comes to women who like when dates are remembered. Remembering takes effort and that effort is caring, I presume. But inspite of all this, I think that remembering varies from person to person.

Now, you might wonder why is she writing so much about dates and memory when the fact is that she has missed her blogoversary :)

Okay, let me stop about dates and memory.

I must thank all of you for the wonderful journey and the experience you have given me during the years. Let's rise a toast for the fourth year! I would also like to leave the link of a few blogs that I have discovered this past year. Hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have:

Peter who blogs at Windgrove - Life on the Edge

Bhumika who blogs at Bhumika's Boudoir

Sandhya who blogs at Maradhi Manni

Dawn Sievers who blogs at Healing Morning

Astha who blogs at Butterflies and Hurricanes

Sumana who blogs at This & That

All said and done, I am happy about the progress of this blog and my readers who make me smile with gratitude.

Image 1: Internet
Image 2: Internet

A question for you

For a long time this has been on my mind. I wanted to ask a question to my readers on their blog (and also mine!).

So here it goes:

What thoughts would you like a first-time reader of your blog to leave with as he/she leaves your page.

What thoughts did you leave with when you first read my posts here (If the first time was long ago, then you can recall any thoughts that you leave with while you leave my webpage)

Waiting to hear from you . . .

Image: Internet

When the favourite commenter goes missing

An invisible bond is forged between a blogger and her/his commenter. When a commenter consistently comments on successive posts and is passionalte about writing what she/he feels after reading a post, there is an organic thread that unites thoughts and observations of the blogger and commenter. From the time I began my journey as a blogger, there have been many such commenters who have forged a strong connectivity with me through my posts.

But the fact is that every commenter has his/her own time in a blog. Some are there for a year, some for six months, some on and off and some only for a month or so. Whatever the duration, after commenting regularly for about a month or so, I unconsciously start looking forward to that regular commenter. It somehow seems my post is incomplete without that commenter's comment on my post. During the initial years of my blogging, I tended to crave . . . literally crave for the regular commenter's comments. I would even get a bit restless if I found that the regular commenter hasn't commented. I wait patiently till the commenter comes along and only after that I would proceed to do another post. I am still like that but have toned down immsensely.

I guess the regular commenter is not the one who just passes by leaving a mundane, 'good post' comment. The regular commenters who I wait for are the ones who comment with their soul. They are passionate about what they feel and their comments reverbrate that intensity. Such commenters also make me raise my standards of commenting. I should say that a comment is definitely something that lights one up and gives a purpose for blogging.

All seems fine until  the day the regular commenter stops commenting. I just cannot imagine why the commenter stops visiting. The reasons for the commenter to leave are many. This is the time when I say to myself: Don't get emotional over commenters. But why shouldn't I? I am emotionally connected to my blog and why not to the readers/commenters? But experience tells me that commenters come and go and I should not get touchy with the commenting part of blogging. The bond that I develop with the regular and intelligent commenter sometimes even goes beyond the space of blogging. I have exchanged emails, chats and stories with those commenters.

Now, this post is a tribute to all those regular commenters who were an active part of my blog in the timeline of my blogging. I miss them and continue to think of them when I write my soulful posts and also when I write soulfully. In the present time, I raise a toast to my present bunch of regular commenters . . . I shall enjoy your presence and comments till it lasts.

Image: Internet

A worthwhile journey this far

It has been quite a journey and how! This day, the 12th of October, 2008, my first post titled Coversations while traversing on a rainy day in an auto was written. That day I just knew that I had to write down my experience of that travel and the platform provided by Blogger seemed ideal. I didn't even know about comments, followers, templates and other things. I just chose a name for this corner and typed in my first post and hit the 'Publish' button. The thought that people would read a post by me did not enter my mind. I imagined that this wee place would be the one where I would record my insignificant observations and personal reflections.

After I wrote the first post, I didn't even check my blog. I had forgotten all about it until November, when something painful happened. I wanted to escape the pain. I wanted to divert myself. I wrote . . . and wrote. I never looked back. Blogging has come to mean many many things now than the first time I wrote that post on a rainy day. That post was published in the morning at 07. 09 am. I wonder how I got to writing something that early in the day. And that post received only two comments :)

The journey has been wonderful this far. To all my followers, commenters, blogger-friends and anonymous readers: THANKS. You have been the best part of this endeavour.

Image 1: Internet

The unique language and world of bloggers

Listening me talk the other day, my non-blogger friend was just amazed with disbelief. What?!?!? Your blogger friend's birthday and to say that you haven't even met him/her. Well, all I could do was give my sweetest smile and say: "You won't understand, until you're blogging." Well, today there seems to be a divide between bloggers and non-bloggers. We bloggers have created a quasi-world where our language is filled with blogs, bloggers, posts, facebook groups, etc., which the non-blogging world views with part amusement and part disbelief. The world of bloggers and blogs can be comprehended only by those who either are bloggers or sympathetic towards blogging.

The steady growth of this blogging community is almost like the real community and despite the fact that most of us haven't met or even talked, the friendship quotient is mutual and agreeable. Sharing of joys, anger, frustrations, paranoia and other feelings comes without any iota of second thought. The comfort zone from the virtual to the real world is also something that a non-blogger cannot understand. When I told my friend that one of my blogger friends called me on my birthday and we ended up chatting for one hour (which is 1 a. m. in the morning), drew loaded stares.

Hearing my tales of blogging and bloggers who are my friends, my non-blogging friend has come to terms with the fact that this is indeed a fantastic relationship where without having seen and talked to, the comfort levels are quite relaxed and happy. Blogging also has the unique power to bring in people from various parts of the world and when they get into contact, it is not them alone but also their country, culture, family and unique tales.

Leaving out one or two untoward incidents, this world has enabled me to blossom in many hitherto unknown aspects of myself. I am indebted to all my blogger buddies. You rock my world!

Now this is a rather heartfelt post which I'm sure many will also share. Do you feel the same about blogging and having blogger friends?

Image: Internet

Why we follow whom we follow

The "follow" button in Blogger has become the most favoured as well as despised button of the blog authors and readers. When one begins to blog, the button is looked with yearning and getting followers one by one gives a sense of unique self-esteem which inflates the ego. One feels that there are people who like the writing style and content of the blog. Well, this is just the beginning. After a considerable number of followers decorate our blog, we gradually learn that following a blog is something like the art of flitting from one blog to another, reading the most recent post, and voila! pressing the Follow button. It becomes a formality.

Recently, while going through my blog's followers, I found that many individuals follow my blog while only few are regulars. I think they base their opinion of a blog by reading the most recent post and instantly hit the Follow button, little knowing that they never will venture in the same place again. Sad. Following blogs has become more like a return gift where if one follows, the other reciprocates by following. For a very long time, I meditated and mulled over before following any blog. I had to read atleast three to four posts of that blog before I could press "Follow." Even now I do that but have lost the verve of yore.

Following has become more like a social obligation where one leaves a visiting card to everyone present. Social butterflies who are adept at hopping from parties to parties make good bloggers who follow any blog quickly but seldom take time leave comments or even visit the blogs they follow.

So, if I don't follow your blog after you have started following mine, it means that I am reading your posts and wondering whether I should Follow.

Well, these thoughts were an instant emptying of the meandering mind. Why do you follow whom you follow? Do you take time to follow a blog or you show your kindness by returning another blogger's favour and following.

Image: Internet

Have I told you lately . . .

You know we take a lot of things in life for granted. Take for example, saying 'Thank-You.' There are many times when we feel gratitude and warmth for something that happened to us but we seldom express it. Well, this is my 200th post. Not a very great milestone, nevertheless it makes me happy happy. I did not intend anything like this when I started this blog. Starting this blog was a very personal motive which I thought will enable me to rid my emotional baggage. But here it is, read and loved by all of you.

So, today I am expressing my gratitude to all my followers and my commenters. You have made me feel special and worthwhile. Exchanging thoughts and ideas across ether is something that I enjoy and look forward to every time I post.

And I should add that you have given me the opportunity to be part of your excellent blogs. Reading your posts, expressing my thoughts and waiting for your next post is something which is cherished and loved by me. We are all fellow travellers in this blogosphere and I must say that the journey is/will be quite eventful and nourishing with you for company.

So let's uncork the champagne and toast for US!!!

Joy always :)

Image: Internet

Being courteous in Blogland

Courtesy whether in the real or virtual world is quite welcome and appreciated. In the blogland, especially, since one does not have the opportunity to see the reader face-to-face, courtesy becomes the signature of our personality in addition to the posts we write.

Personally I like it when the comments that I make in other blogs are acknowledged. A simple 'Thank-You' or a few lines in reply to my comment is well appreciated. Having the habit of returning to the blog once I make a comment, I get very disappointed when my comment is not acknowledged. Now I can understand when there are a multitude of comments; the blogger cannot acknowledge each and every single individual and so a common 'Thank-You' note which includes the names of the individuals who wrote comments is a noteworthy sign.

I quite like visiting people who take time to reply to my comments and thus an effective dialogue is carried on between the two parties. I remember instances when I decided that I will never visit blogs which do not write a return comment to my comment. And trust me, I have not visited those places again.

If a reader has visited your blog for the first time and left a comment, courtesy demands that I welcome the reader and appreciate the time taken to visit my blog. This creates a personal rapport with the fellow-blogger. Better still it would be nice to visit the blog of that individual and write a few lines of appreciation.

I must proudly admit that the readers that visit my blog are quite courteous and liberal with their comments and insights. I have learnt many valuable lessons from a few of them who take time, care and thought to write down their honest insights on the post. I do not want to name them one by one, but I definitely appreciate their presence here.

The virtual world is a faceless remote land and when one's presence is acknowledged it makes a great difference. Connecting with readers through comments is the only mode of communication and dialogue so why not strive for it.

Finally blog awards are something which make the blogger's day. Even though I don't much enjoy the tagging and other extended aspects, I do like the blogger who spends time and gives away awards (though I seldom do it).

My readers are welcome to add to this list of courtesies and I know that you would have a lot to say . . .

Picture courtesy: Internet

Treading on to December and the last month of 2008

Sitting few hours away from the next month, I wonder at the passing November. I must say that the month did not take very kindly to me. Or is it the other way round? Did I not take November in the right spirit . . . Well, I can ruminate and introspect. Reading the Big B's blog was truly connecting to him in several spheres. He may be the ruling man in Bollywood but his blog connects one to the man - the real man who is great, vulnerable, sad, angry, tired, sleepy, grumpy and many other things. I resisted writing comments on his blog, maybe I wanted to be a secret reader of his everyday travails. It unfolded like a page of the book of his life. He is like any of us and is humble enough to show it and bare it all. My admiration for him has moved in degrees. Nice and neat blog. Well, coming back to a review of the passing November, all I can see is that I am not what I had assumed I was. When bared of high talk and emotional strappings, I was a vulnerable woman standing and waiting for something nice to happen. Well, that is me and was. maybe at this instant I am changing and growing. November will be etched (I say this as of now) in my mind or maybe in later years it will become a faint and faded page of history that exists but does not seem as alluring. History interests me now but earlier it did not. maybe things might change like that. Sweet November you are passing by . . . I cannot thank you less for you unfolded many things that were unnerving and moving at the same time - The floods in Chennai, The Mumbai episode and certain aspects that involved yours truly. I shall wait to enter december with hope and grit for that will lead me on the new year with promising horizons - Sometimes unknown melodies do seem sweeter than heard ones (Thanks to Mr. Keats for this).

Reader, never lose hope. Always keep sight of joy for sometimes it likes playing hide-and-seek.