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Monday, July 14, 2008

Blogging ?? Me ?? How ?? Why ??

Looking at the comments I received for my previous post, my instant feeling was one of delight, and later, as I was walking up the stairs to the terrace ( I turn a solitary thinker at the terrace and this is where the preliminary thoughts for my blog to follow sprout ), I started wondering, ' Blogging ?? Me ?? How ?? Why ?? '. If one's acquaintanceship with me been for many years and had they lost touch in the last few months, I'm sure, they would be baffled to know that I'm a decent writer today - reasons aplenty. Looking back, I see myself a lethargic guy when it comes to English reading or writing. My aversion for the subject and poor marks in exams went hand-in-hand, but I still have no clue as to which followed what. Reading novels or any kind of books ( including comics) for that matter never enthused me. If I still press hard to say that I did cultivate a reading habit, Vijay Lokapally's columns on The Hindu and Sportstar, which kept me glued, rightly justifies. Even today, my eye nerves get restless and I can't read a book for more than half-hour non-stop. It's irresistible, but the same doesn't seem to apply to reading my friends' blogs ( Do my fellow bloggers' write-up interest me better ??? Definitely yes :) ).

Coming back, my parents' sincere advice to inculcate in me, the reading habit, went into deaf ears and to me, reading looked an infection, my mind had quarantined. In one of my previous articles, I had mentioned ' People are more convinced by reasons they discovered themselves than those found by others ' and that very much applied to me and still does. Only after entering The Blogosphere have I realized, how better a writer I could have been today had I read more books in my childhood. Though the urge to improve my English vocabulary was always at the back of my mind, the surge for more reading was missing. I never attempted to read books / newspaper columns and the saddest thing was, I was unaware that I had still been incorrigible, until very recently, when Shreya Ghoshal pushed me in reincarnating http://justrajesh.blogspot.com . On March 22, 2008 when I logged in to www.blogger.com to post the write-up ' Fallen in Love...', Mr. Blogspot failed to identify me and the account had to be re-created . I gave my blog a complete makeover - provided a refreshing title 'As I Introspect' with an optimistic description footing it, thereby replacing the awful 'Blogging - Not Boring'. I emphasize, my posting that article on Shreya, which had a laminar flow of words while penning down, was intuitive and not one to revive my relationship with the blogging world. Even after posting ' Fallen in....', I never looked forward as it was penned down only to express my admiration for that Nightingale, rather, my love for her music forced me to do so.The inception of my blog was done out of my curiosity to know what exactly a blog was ( I preferred writing over reading as the latter had always taken a backseat ) and I seldom expected myself to hone the writing skill in me. Never have I dreamed of being passionate about blogging but it turned a reality in the days that followed.

( I had an aversion for English when I looked as cute as him )

A topic I had posted in Shreya Ghoshal's mammoth 26866 member Orkut community ( as on March 22, 2008 ) informing members about this post had my blog pouring in with her fans. They, apart from deepening their love for her, appreciated my writing skills. This dumbstruck me as I had expected people, only to read about a child prodigy called Shreya Ghoshal and definitely not to appreciate or take notice of my writing skills. I was on cloud nine while cherishing those comments her fans had posted, and pondered ' Why not harness something, people feel, I'm good at ?? Why not post simple articles, improvise by empathizing such situations and narrate in a manner everyone could relate to ??'. I was convinced and exclaimed to myself ' Ya...of course...why not ?? ' and there began the series of blogs I started posting. I made it a point to read daily newspaper editorials and was determined to produce better articles in my blog. Santosh Desai's write-ups in The Times Of India ( His latest, dated 14.07.2008 on the Aarushi murder case, presented a realistic portrayal of the goofy media trying to make a news out of nothing...do read if you had missed it ) inspired me to a very good extent. Later, one fine morning, I happened to read about the Chennai bloggers meet on newspaper and hence registered myself at www.indiblogger.in, got in touch with fellow bloggers ( first being Anila, she had registered the previous day and hers was the first blog I read ) and I'm sure, my flair for writing got better and better as days passed, drawing inspiration from fellow bloggers' exemplary writings.

1545 hrs on a sunny Monday evening at Chennai in October 1998 - A dejected 10 yr old boy was walking his way home from school with a second thought pulling him back, not allowing him to proceed home fearing his mom's rebuke, but, when a third questioned the former's validity, he seemed more convinced and continued with his walk. Later, when a malicious fourth, bullied for being very honest to his parents back home, he shut the doors for further thoughts just before the fifth could coerce and entrench, and thus proceeded home straight. On entering, already shuddering, he was shocked at seeing the hall flooded with guests, subsequently turned quandary, flipped his lid and opened doors for the fifth thought to intimidate him, to not let out his compunction right away. Sixth, seventh, eighth etc....followed and the remorse was kept at bay from expression. As the clock kept ticking, ticking and ticking, the angst disturbed him more and more...an hour passed, the guests had left and it was around 5 in the evening when he made up his mind to face the heat and decided to show his mom those sheets of paper which exemplified only disgust and haphazard writing. All the thoughts that had cobbled together to prevent him from doing so, were shunned, and their efforts eventually, went in vain. Pulse rates soared as he neared his mom and one look at his paper, she scowled at him for having managed just 42 percent in his Quarterly English exams, flung it on his face, lambasted him verbally and never spoke to him for the next 2 hrs. That 10 yr old boy, who was struck with terror, who looked horrified en route to his house, whose mind was permeated with a vicious circle of thoughts and whose heart was pervaded with guilt, was none other, but the 20 yr old Rajesh of today, posting this article on yet another sunny Monday evening in Chennai.

50 comments:

Anonymous said...

for a change i ll b the first 2 comment rather than being the last 2 push in one...

s..this was sumthin i ve bin wanting 2 know fer a long time now...y has rajesh taken up blogging , thereby sending shock waves thru his frend's circles , for there was absolutely no inclination whatsoever before..or..if it did exist..it was defnetly inconspicous...

so finally rajesh raises the curtain and reveals the truth..glad u did so da machi...

tht account of ur nightmarish confrontation with ur mom was an absolute scream..so now , she must b readin ur work an wonder wat came over u , na?

well..i wish u success in all ur future write-ups...y..maybe u ll allow me 2 b among d first 5 readers of ur nascent venture in book writing..

Shruti said...

awwww!!!
that was very sweet...honestly..i mean i have never really thought why i started blogging..
i really liked ur laid back attitude for reading..happens with most guys..so not to worry...
nd hmm...Shreya Ghoshal...she is amazing..i like the songs she chooses to sing...very thrilling to hear her...
and yeah did i mention, i loved it..
:-)
Cheers!!

Jahnabi Roy said...

i can't believe that a guy who writes so well doesnt like reading... it's like...the two things go hand in hand... but anyway... since you have said that you never liked reading..i'll satisfy myself with the explanation that you never got the right kind of books suited for your wavelength...lol...

Lavanya said...

lol, youre kinda obsessed with shreya goshal arent you? :P
Nice read.

Rajesh said...

@ Durga
Yeah...nice 2 c u comment 1st...well..Writing a book is a long term goal and so u ll have 2 wait for that :)

@ Shruti
A very pleasing comment 4m u as always...thanks 4 dropping by...keep coming...n ya..Shreya rocks...

@ Everything (Jahnabi)
I agree with u but a small change...wavelength is not the exact word...i wud say...i never got books tat interested me...of late, I've been reading newspaper articles and now into Daniel Goleman's ' Working with emotional Intelligence' ..do read it...its very good...

Rajesh said...

@ Cocunut Chutney
ya...very true....

Vivek said...

Well written :-) And ya I am obsessed with Shreya's voice too :D...whenever I listen to her, I always wonder how on earth can someone sound wonderfully melodious always :-) Ditto for SPB..keep in touch man..

Unknown said...

thannnkkk uuu for mentioning mee.. yaaayyy lol..

well am sure ur mom must be really proud of you today.. and yes ur blogs are improving by every post.. ( wish i could say the same about me :( )

reallyy like the music element to ur blog now.. i must also try tht sometime..

Anu said...

Very sweet post.. you captured your fear very well.. I was like that after my maths paper was out :D .But I do also think that blogging brings out the personality of the writer in a different way.. thats why Im sure its so popular

Rajesh said...

@ Vivek
Welcome to my blog Vivek..hope u liked reading...keep coming..

@Ani
U truly deserved a mention for posting ur honest comments and u have been a regular visitor here ever since i blog rolled u...I'm thankful 2 u..n ya,of course, an honest mention...thanks anyway.. keep coming...

@ Anu
Yeah...I enjoyed writing the last para...I never thought of presenting it that way but it just happened...it happened while writing the 2nd para...but i later made it the last to end on a good note...

123 said...

Ha u never know when a change can occur in a person! Btw nice cute foto there....

Unknown said...

oh ya.. i still remember that guy with "not-much-interest-in-reading" attitude.. but u kno .. i nvr thought u had the aversion.. u werent a voracious one like me.. but thats about it.. you do read and maybe not when you were ten yrs old (definitely not :O).. i can only remember you using up all your time to tease me and carry biscuits in ur pant pocket for every violin class..:P.. But i always knew u wud write this well:)..

Rajesh said...

@ Jggu
Thanks da

@ Divya
Aversion, I wud say was kinda an exaggeration...biscuits stuff, thou funny was sorta embarrassing...but one is excused for such activities when he's just 10..

Anonymous said...

The last para was Outstanding... Hats off... Amazing post this was, shows free flow of latent thought at its spontaneity best.. You should consider writing articles to the papers :)

Anonymous said...

Happens! Life is strange...guess that 42 marks has more than paid for itself now.

Carry on :)

Matangi Mawley said...

:).. hey tht s some story indeed! shreya's voice is indeed magic.. :)

every one has a story behind their blogs, i guess.. i found this post really "connecting", coz i had to recreate my blog too.. i had lost the earlier one.. forgot password.. n wht not! i didn't even know wht to do with it!
i jst used to write poetries, to while away time.. or to let go of my frustration, or any of my feelings.. one day, i was reading sme of them.. and a few, i felt, were good.. and so came forth my blog.. allsettodonothing.blogspot.com
the reason it is "all set to do nothing" is tht.. i am extremely lazy, irresponsible, commitment-allergic, non-punctual and whtevr "ill-habitd" kind of a person.. so i had no hope tht i d even do smethin with my blog.. bt to my surprise, i nt only startd to love blogging.. i became rather passionately attached to it n "committed" myself to post atleast one post per month!
tht s my story.. n yes, blogs can do wonders- which i now believe!

Amrita said...

i wud nt accept ur eng is nt so good..

Rajesh said...

@ Shruthilaya
Thanks for dropping by. Even, I enjoyed writing the last para

@Rahul
Thanks dude...

@ Matangi
Ya...very true...blogs can do wonders..n ya Shreya's voice is indeed ' Jaadhu '...and I can't believe that someone who once, didn't know what to do with a blog has become an Indian Agatha Christie today :)

@ Amrita
Welcome to my blog...I never said my English today, is bad...its pretty decent...I've stressed on the fact that, I once, was very poor in my English vocabulary..

Anonymous said...

Awesome writing! You have really become my idol for creativity and hopefully, one day I'll be able to write as well as you. And the story in this entry... masterpiece. I really didn't imagine the boy was actually you!! Keep writing!

Waiting for your next entry,
Anahita

Anonymous said...

By the way, the quotes are GREAT!

Rajesh said...

@ Anahita
Welcome to my blog..Thanks for ur compliments....feel blessed to receive such appreciations...be very passionate abt ur writing...you're sure to improve.. Passion for writing is what drives me as well...

Those quotes are my favorites.. ya they are really good...

Chutneytales said...

Hai..Interesting blog..Will keep reading..

Nikkita mathur said...

hey rajesh!!
only thing that surprised me was that somone who gives me such a masala read(ur blog)..doesnt prefer reading himself(????)...
as it is obvious..my vocab is not even close to gr8..but it is the passion as u said that drives me...

BTW it has now been 20min i've been strugggling with this i pod on ur blog...ive the same song in my playlist..and wid this "rah-mania" playin simultaneously..its like a monster with two heads...mummmmyyy!!!
plz tell me how to close this...

and about the post u were FATANG...
keep rocking..
luv:nickku

Rajesh said...

@ Nikkita
Thanks...Wat u mean by FATANG???..i don get u.. Press on the pause button on the ipod...it'll stop..

Chandrasekharan said...

hey rajesh, i think i was the first to read ur post(even before it was posted!!!)

As i told u, nice introspection! You are improving with every post and the 'flow' is there in ur posts...

we share 1 thin in common... Till about 3 years back, I wasnt into much of reading and writing, but blogs gave me the confidence to write...

Anonymous said...

ha ha, you remind me of the days when I used to blog under a pseudo-name and I had a good number of replies. I was elated!! Keep the consistency, and post regularly - I guess it should do the trick, but I have just come back to the idea of posting regularly, I dont know if things have changed in the mean time.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I wonder about the incredulity of the human brain...its all in the mind, u wud be surprised by what all you can do without any trouble if u simply gave it a different perspective and feel with the help of ur mind...every diability is just a mind barrier and it all changes with a thought

Sameera Ansari said...

That's a long trip down memory lane!

It's never too late to develop one's literary skills,and nice to see you have done it.

Good luck for the road ahead :)

Preetilata【ツ】 said...

hi! how r u?? sorry i hvnt visited ur blog 4 past few days... no net at home... last two posts r awesome. n i love nandu..may god bless her n she touches d sky.

wud post a detailed comment once i am back.

u r tagged..

take care :)

Miracle said...

hey thanks for the comment on my blog... yu hav a great blog... reading yur blog i almost felt am readin my own story... never been an avid reader but recently hav been reading so much... cudnt imagine how much i have missed out not reading all these years.. :)
yu write gud...keep up the gud work... all d best.. :)

Nikkita mathur said...

sorry if u felt angry bcuz of that i-pod thing but it did frustrate me..honestly :(...and FATANG..is actuaaly nothing jus a teenagerz slang...and bein a teen....u knoe...

ok FATANG means fantastic...fabulous..totally mast...etc.etc..thik hai now samajh aaya??

Rajesh said...

@ nikki
ya samjhaa... :) jus check if u can pause it now...i cant remove it jus 4 u...u can always pause it..

Anonymous said...

Blogging for me...i dont even know how i started...back when i did, i had
just heard of blogging as a medium for writing but i never knew how, what
blah blah...iv always written stuff from when i was a kid...articles for
books, magazines, competitions n all...and i still wanted to...iv always
blogged only about what i feel and what touches me or affects me the
most...inititally...it was like i needed inspiration to write and there the
language and all was important...but now, blogging has become a prt of my
day to day life...i have ppl who wanna know what i do...and so i write
regularly on updates in my life...not necessarily an article with a topic u
know...so it went from slight literary writing to total casual writing...i
always feel that if we r writing in a pblic forum, we should write for ppl
to understand and so use of jargon is not warranted...simple words, simple
sentences make for better understanding than complex words...sorry for the
LONG comment!!!Mailin it to Ani to type it out as a comment here!


Preeti

Rajesh said...

@ Preeti
I don get u...thanks 4 the comments anyway

Unknown said...

Ayyoo dumbo..

She mailed me telling me what to write.. so i logged in as anonymous to comment.. thts wht she meant.. ayyooo rammaa..

hope u understood atleast now..

man in painting said...

Rajesh,
yesterday i came here..read your latest post..commented..but it is not here!Am I having dementia..Most probably i might have forgotten to post it..LOL
Now, about the post..
A writer is like an archeologist who digs his own past.It is good to read,but better not to read too!When you write conventionally reading helps..but if you expect something extraordinary , then you will have to allow your mind to grow itself..
You are already a very good writer.
wishes..
MIP

Nikkita mathur said...

yipee...wipee....finally it did pause...woo-hoo....(i dint even feel itta happy wen i got my own i-pod...)hey bhagwaan...silly me...but thanx anyway..i can hear my own playlist now..and really really sorry yaar...the i-pod thing is gr8 but....*sowie*.......
:(

Ferrin B said...

huge shakehand from clucky and i!! that was such a sweet post...may you write LOTS of awesome posts like these and may your comment section be OVERFLOWING with comments. aishmanbhava. all blessings from clucky and moi. beautiful writing by the way, raj.

ta.

arunima said...

awsome post....!! m glad ur so addicted to d blog world. i was drawn in coz most my frds were caught with d blog fever... u write well irrespectve of d fast whether u have read books r not.... i bet we'll c much more of u!!

Solitaire said...

Wow! You are famous!

Rajesh said...

@ Man In Painting
Sorry dude...dunno whats wrong with the comments section...thanks 4 ur appreciation..keep comin

@ Nikki
Phew...thank god u paused...I certainly don't wan my blog accessories to irritate ppl..the I-pod was basically to add to the entertainment stuff.. :)

@ Arunima
Definitely...thanks 4 visiting..

@ Ferrin..
Thanks a lot..May ur blessings help me in producing better posts..also thanks to Clucki

@ Solitaire
Naa...lol..nothing like that..just an introspection..

Meghna said...

Very nice blog...an introspecting post....loved the way u answer your own queries!!! You have a wonderful thought process :)

Rajesh said...

@ Meghna
Thanks for dropping by..n a big thanks for your appreciation... I'm a person who's been loving solitude of late...so no wonder...shud b having a good thot process :)

alx said...

wow!!
i cud copy-paste d fast para in my auto biography ...lol
i completely relate with u
inspiring 1
keep posting

Anonymous said...

now that was some introspection..
hhmmm..u've come a llong way rajesh..

Rajesh said...

@ Alex
Thanks for dropping by...keep coming.. surprising to see it inspiring

@ Soniya
Ya...thanks..

Preeti said...

i thought i had written it pretty simple out there...dno what u dint understand... :) anyway, i just wanted to say - write to express, write whatevr you feel...dont expct to please everyone with what you write...More importantly,try to get your point across in simple language...USage of complicated words complicates the sentence...try n keep it simple...

Rajesh said...

@ Preeti

I dont think any sentence looks complex here...the last para had to be that way to express those emotions in a much more intense manner...otherwise I generally use good language for my blogs and I've not gone in for complex words...never got such comments...surprising.. I feel it would be better if u cud pin point those sentences, which u feel look complex...Anyways will look into it...

Tara said...

Really nice post Rajesh! I can't quite remember when the blogging bug bit (hey is that alliteration now?) me, maybe sometime after the Boards, when I had loads of free time. Me too not much into reading, I just can't stay with a book for too long. An excetion here though, I love reading autobiographies, about reall people and their struggle. Nice post. Good job. I'd rather not say anything in Tamil frm now on...

Rajesh said...

@ Tara
Ya...thanks a lot...blogging bug bit..yup.. that was an alliteration...intentional or unintentional?? :)