1 Year

One year since I started blogging. 75th post.

It was my ex roomie Manjushree who persuaded me to start blogging. Thanks Manju :-)

Prose, poetry, travel, photography, paintings, book reviews. That summarises my blog so far. I have plans to add my voice, some Sanskrit and more paintings to this space.

Initially, I was keen to hide it. It was a private blog. (I was guarding my masterpieces against plagiarism!) I had sent out invitations to a few people (chosen ones :-)) who alone could read my blog. They would have to sign in using their gmail ID! And then, after a few months, I went public. The comments that started coming in kind of gave me a thrill.

Let me take this opportunity to say a few things that I should have said, in my introductory post.
This is not a work of construction but a work of creativity. I don’t write because I have to write but only when my mind is preoccupied with something and I can contain it no more.
I have tried my best to abstain from rhetoric. There are thousands of articles on pollution, population, corruption, poverty and so on, available on the internet. I also dont write about topics like leadership, motivation, hard work, success etc, because there are hundreds of books on self help selling all the aforemnetioned subjects. What I write is MY observation of life around me.

Although there is a compulsion sometimes, I try not to write about the gory details of my daily life. But once in a way, when an evening has been made interesting because of great company(as in “From The 13th Floor”) or because of revisiting a place from the past (as in “Sajjan Rao Circle”) or just the lovely weather(as in “Breathtakingly Beautiful Bangalore”), I commit it to paper.
Occasionally when an evening has been made uninteresting (as in "Dogwoman"), I committ that to paper too.

Whenever I have delivered my speeches, I have been accused of a high speech rate; 200 to 250 words per minute whereas the recommended rate is 150 WPM.
Although my mind continues to spew ideas at the same high rate and my fingers continue to type equally fast, I am happy my readers can read at their own pace. :-)

I have also been accused of using a language that is almost always poetic and flowery. Let me take this opportunity to clarify that my language is not a work of construction either. My natural style of writing is such. There is really no flamboyance. As someone said, "I write to express, not to impress". The similes, the metaphors, the alliterations and other figures of speech are not calculated entries force-fed into the sentences but letteredfeelings that wave from my heart. They are simply inevitable! I have to make a conscious effort to keep even my official mails crisp, brisk and simple.

And then, I could not help a few crib blogs. Thanks for being polite.

Lastly, this blog has become my sanctuary.
I have always had so much to express, but not necessarily an audience to receive my expression.
There were so many ideas, thoughts, pouring out; perhaps spilling here and there. At last there is a container to collect everything that pours from my heart and my mind, both tangible and intangible…

I don’t have to wait to meet with an old friend to start sharing my thoughts excitedly. I just have to start writing. I will be read or heard or felt…
I have realised more clearly than ever before the importance of expressing what you contain within and the disastrous effects that can be caused to your personality and your self when you withhold your thoughts and your feelings…

This hobby serves to stimulate me intellectually more than anything else.
Writing has always been my pleasure and that too in a language which I am so passionate about (as if it were my mother tongue!).
There were essay competitions, the toastmaster speeches and standing ovations but very sporadic. This has become a part of my everyday.
I can clearly feel that I have matured as a writer. Still way to go.

I have been reading everyday. I have set for myself a target of two book reviews every month.
My dream to be a well read person one day is on its way to realisation.

I am thrilled with every increment of the count that sitemeter keeps of page visits. Every new comment excites me.
Everyday when I see the sitemeter number going up on my blog, I feel a childlike happiness.

Google has become indispensable. I have become more knowledgeable than before :-) … When I am quoting a scientist or a philosopher in my article(even though it may be as little as a single sentence), I have to research them before I write about them so that I am authentic…

Dictionary.com is another site I visit so often. It helps me when I want to use a certain word, but not sure which preposition to use it with.
Thanks to the Thesaurus available in MS Word. When I have used a certain word too often, like “abundance” and don’t feel like using, abusing or overusing the word any more, I simply right click and the Thesaurus gives me so many options; “profusion”, “cornucopia”, “plethora”, “superfluity” and so on…

Posts from certain fellow bloggers have made me wiser….given me ideas..sometimes they make me feel inadequate…when I have read twice a poem and still haven’t understood it… I wonder if I am only a success among the mediocre… and then I read my best post “As perennial as the grass” and I am reassured of my talent. :-)

I want to thank all my readers for appreciating me, for faithfully visiting me, for including me in your blog and thereby getting me more readers, for all your overwhelming comments…may you live long…. :-)
I will be hibernating for a while (just a short while). Till then do read my old posts and leave me LOTS of comments… :-)

Sarve Janaha Sukhino Bhavantu
God bless all…