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 6 - Seven dreams for India that I would like to see fulfilled in my life-time

Like any thinking citizen, there are some dreams that I have for India and I keep my fingers crossed hoping that the dreams will see fruition in my life-time. Hopefully. But then, it's a tall order. So here are seven, comprising of the base and sublime. 

1. A day when a woman can walk without fear in any part of the country and in any time of the day/night.

2. Cleanliness being followed by every single individual.

3. People who don't jump queues as if it was their birth-right.

4. The word 'corruption' to be completely wiped out of the dictionary of Government officials.

5. There should no discrimination based on caste, colour, creed or conditioning.

6. The local should get precedence over the global (read Mac, Starbucks, Cola, burger, clothes' brands and so on).

7. Academic selection should be based on merit and merit alone.



I bet you have many such dreams for your country. Do your dreams match with mine or do you have some more vital ones that can be added to the list?

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 6.

 

PostScript: I am already beginning to miss the interaction by way of Write Tribe because today is the sixth day and tomorrow the lovely festival ends :(

 

Seven: Day 5 - Seven smells that transport me to another time and day

Smells are an important aspect of memory and without smells there would be no memories opine scientists and boy, they cannot be more correct. How much often I try to avoid sentimentalising my past, some smells never let me rest -- they coerce me into mentally shifting into another time and day when a particular smell happened.

1. Smell of moth balls are not quite to my liking but a whiff of them sends me into the trunks and cupboards of houses we lived in and clothes we transferred from cupboards to suitcases. Moth balls are emissaries of nostalgia!

2. The fragrance of jasmine flowers always remind me of a time when I fought for flowers on my aunt's head. They also remind of markets where there were many shops lined which sold strands of jasmine flowers.

3. Freshly painted walls force me into a mental journey of places that were part of my memory - school buildings, shops, houses and public libraries.

4. Smell of newspapers transport me but I still can't pinpoint any special place. It just transports me!

5. The smell while passing by a bakery - The assortment of diverse pastries and savouries combine to send out a wonderful smell that immediately reminds me of school get-togethers in small bakeries and shops.

6. While sauteing onions, there is a lovely smell that wafts through the kitchen and immediately the mind conjures images of lovely food and always food leads one to vibrant and beautiful and not-so-beautiful memories.

7. Nail polish smell brings to mind the memory of other similar smells like that of petrol, fresh paint alongside incidents which formed an integral part of our lives some time ago!

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 5.

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.

Seven: Day 3 - Seven Blogs that I like to Visit

 

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 3.

 

There are some blogs which resonate with us but either those bloggers write rarely or we seldom find time to visit their space and relish the posts. So, here are seven such blogs that I recommend.

1. Nevine Sultan - Dreams, Deliriums, and other Mind Talk

Nevine is a deep and soulful writer (I say writer because she is one!) who probes the inner crevices of the mindscape and brings out the visceral feelings beautifully. A wordsmith who strings beautiful words effortlessly and seamlessly is currently pursuing her Ph. D. in Psychology, a subject that befits her personality and writings.

2. Sylvian Patrick - Sylvianism

A marketing professional, Sylvian is passionate about films, social affairs and any controversial topic. Though he writes rarely, his posts have a fiery quality that leaves one thinking on various levels.

3. Karishma Kulkarni - Why is Everything Four

Karishma is a doctor-to be and she writes posts which are inquiring, fresh and so very tender. Through her posts, basic emotions are shared with syrupy nostalgia, tangerine memories and beautiful lines. I could stay on her blog forever!

4. Karen Xavier-Fernandez - Contemplations and Ruminations

Karen is a blogger like me. Her blog is a show-case of almost everything albeit with an intimate coating. A fan of country music and cooking, most of her posts discuss her current favourite artists and recipes that engage her.

5. Bhumika Anand - Boumika's Boudoir

Bhumika is a sensual, passionate and vibrant writer. Her posts border around love, lust, memories and unbridled passion in either succinct prose or neat verse. She empties her heart and soul in her posts. After reading her posts, I'm almost always overcome with strong emotion - happiness, sadness or both.

6. Ravi Kunjwal - Yet Another Horizon

A young research student, Ravi infuses his quest for life through questions, nostalgia and songs. I especially like his nostalgia posts - they leave me with a smile and mellow thoughts.

7. Ashwathy Nair - Dreaming in Metaphors

Ash is a keen photographer who exhibits her pictures with apt quotes. I started following her blog because she had a lovely name for her blog, "Dreaming in Metaphors." I wish I stopped by her blog regularly so that I could read fantastic quotes accompanied by equally wonderful pictures.

So these are seven out of the many fabulous blogs that I follow and try to be regular. There are more but I will save them for another post. Hope you get time to look up these blogs and savour their content.

What are some of your favourite blogs? 

Seven: Day 2 - Seven memories with my father

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 2.

It's quite rare that I mention my dad leave alone writing about him. I think this is the first time I've come close to writing something about him. He passed on when I was thirteen and since then it has been a long while. I have outgrown the memories that we shared but there are some that remain evergreen and those are the ones I am sharing today. Here you go:

1. I remember sitting with him on Saturday afternoons, sipping hot mutton soup made by my amma and listening to Biblical stories. He was the one who started me on with those interesting stories which held me in rapt attention.

2. Going hungry on a certain Sunday afternoon because I was yet to memorise Psalm 23. Eventually I did memorise that passage and till date I remember what I had learnt that day.

3. Going with him to his office and while returning we stood outside a house because we heard one of our favourite songs, 'Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder' playing in a record inside the house. We stood there till the song got over and then resumed our return journey.

4. Close to his office was a water body which had reeds growing around then borders of the water. Sometimes he brought some of those reeds neatly cut to our home. I would put them into a bottle of water. Those reeds with their deep maroon colour would look beautiful.

5. Being slapped hard when I interrupted him while he was conversing with a neighbour. The reason: We were in the middle of an interesting story-telling session when the neighbour came home. I was quite impatient to listen to the rest of the story and barged during the conversation. The response was a sharp slap. I had learnt what I had to that day!

6. Once when I got very low marks in my Geography exam, my father refused to sign the Report-card. Later he did sign it but left a note along with it with his name signed on that note. It read: "If your marks are like this, I will not sign your Report-card. All the best."

7. I never saw my father enter the kitchen but on those rare occasions when my amma went to visit her parents in Trichy, my dad would prepare delicious food. I still remember the taste of some items that he judiciously attempted to cook.

I must admit that his memories don't come without coercing but the above seven do come effortlessly. Those days were different. It has been 21 years since the day he left us. Life goes on.

It's strange how minds come up with similar topics. Here's Karan who writes at Scribble who has also written a post for his father for the Write Tribe's Festival of Words. Read here.