Wednesday, October 04, 2006

On My Blog

I have been tagged by the wonderful Silverine, to write this tag about my blog and its a special occasion too. My blog is turning 2 years old in less than a week's time and I found out that this is my 100th post too. I am really not in a mood to blog but this is another one of those super-tags I just cant shy away from.

1. Are you happy/satisfied with your blog, with its content and look? Does your family know about your blog?
Yes, I am satisfied with all I have written on my blog. Sometimes i get so inspired i cant believe that I really wrote some of those posts. Other times I have had to labour hard to gather my thoughts to even pen down a few paras. My family found out about my blog almost 6 months after i had begun...recently, they just cant resist the urge to leave a comment though I really dont approve of it. The hard part is ever since he's found out, my dad thinks I can become a writer, but he doesnt realize its just my age, my idealism, my frustrations and my experiences that find a voice here.

2. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?
Many of my posts have been about my friends, their heroics, their achievements and their blunders...so I always thought it unfair not to let them know about my blog. I know for a fact that people feel real happy when others write good things about them...i always think the only good that may come out of my blog is that i have honoured a lot of good people who have contributed immensely to my growth as a human being. To be frank, before I began blogging, I always felt i hadnt done anything worthwhile in life, i craved for appreciation, and then when people began to relate with me from school, college, people who knew my family name besides total strangers, i got scared, i wished I had stayed anonymous, i wished i could be more frank and forthcoming than I already was on my blogs...now its too late to change.

3. Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?
Definitely. I think I have begun the process of finding out who I am, what I am capable of and how little I know of the world around me. It is when you pen down your thoughts, that realization dawns on you about how age, maturity and experiences have shaped the growth of your personality all these years. I have read so many interesting thoughts and viewpoints, its helped me in my growth as a person.

4. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?
For close to a year I havent had the time, the computer, or the luxury to let myself loose in blogworld. So I have restricted myself to only those people who regularly comment on my blog and yet I dont even find time to visit some of them regularly. Many of the blogpals who were active a year back dont blog anymore, but I have discovered many other talented writers along the way to offset their loss.

5.What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?
I think I put it on just a few months back. A friend told me I had some fans at the place he works and thats when I wanted to find out how many silent readers pass by my blog daily. It really doesnt matter who reads and who doesnt...i just wish I had a perfect professional life to balance all the happiness I get from blogging to my hearts content.

6. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?
Reading what they write has given me a mental idea of the wonderful people they are and how they go about their lives. I think appreciating what they write has given the word, friendship a whole new dimension on cyberspace. I havenot and maynot meet any of them, nor will i make the effort and most of my blogpals, i think, have certainly overgrown the fancy of giving faces to each other.

7. Admit. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?
Definitely. I began to blog when I quit my first job and was bereft of inspiration. It continued along with me in my quest for professional sucess. All through school and later years, i never could write anyting coherently, but I have noticed how much the way i express my thoughts on paper have changed recently, from the time i began to blog. I think even the courage to pursue a childhood dream of writing the civil services exam came through the confidence i got with being able to write here.

8. Do you think that bloggers society is isolated from real world or interacts with events?
People who think we pale in the face of newspapers, magazines, TV and other forms of media may think so. 5-10 years back i was jealous of the journalists and columnists of India Today, Hindu and Readers Digest. But today I feel so empowered. I can voice my opinion through my blog or leave a comment on another blog on any issue or event somebody decides to blog about. We bloggers are a part of the society we live in and absolutely everything we write is about the people and incidents which happen around us or somewhere in the world. If its our limited reach, that makes others call us a bloggers society, it only shows the limitations of the billions of people on our earth who dont know what a blog is.

9. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it's a normal thing?
I hate people criticising me. From reading so many other talented bloggers, I know my limitations and try to evolve. But that takes time. I hate people who dont agree with something a blogger has written about but ends up crticizing his/her writing styles and that bloggers very intelligence. Its easy to leave a harsh comment, but they dont realize the courage and skill it takes for an amateur to write a good blog or voice an opinion knowing they could get scorned at or not appreciated.

10. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them?
No. I try to appreciate what the author wants to say. But if I cant agree I just move on without leaving a comment. Infact two of my seniors from school, MindCurry and Vinod Chetan, have begun two of the best initiatives among kerala bloggers on our politics and society...and sad part is i havent been in a mindset to visit their blogs recently. And ooh, its been a long time since I have written something serious.

11. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?
I feel sorry for those guys in China, Pakistan and other Islamic and dictatorial countries who get arrested for blogging in the name of freedom and democratic values. As for those bastards who use it to propogate violence against others, what a shame. Finally, have they realized the pen certainly is mightier than the sword??

12. Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?
It will die with me for sure. Then the only people who stumble on it will be the ones who look up trivandrum, kattakayam, loyola or a jiby on google.

13. What do you like to hear? What's the song you might like to put a link to in
your blog?

There are so many songs...i'll just list the ones that inspire me the most
Let It Be - Beatles
Yeh Jo Desh - Swades
Kadam Kadam - Netaji
Naalikerathinte Naatil - Thurakkaatha Vaathil

This is a tag for every blogger. This is a tag for every blogger who has gained something from this pastime. I earnestly hope all my blog-pas will take this one up.

I am not living in India anymore. I am one of those oddities in our 21st century India abounding with jobs who still doesnt know at age 26, what he wants to do with his life. And i think about all those guys in the 70's and the 80's like my dad and others who had to apply for 100's of jobs to get an interview or were desperate to go out of the country to earn a living. A turbulent phase lies ahead...maybe this will be my last post for a long long time or maybe not...its hard to turn my back to this blog. I return to India in May, for next years exam...maybe after that with some more money at hand, which i will make now by goin back to work in the industry i got sick of, i can start on some other saner venture. Adieu!

22 comments:

Rajesh said...

Jiby

Dont worry too much. Be occupied all the time. Take up a job if it makes sense to you. Continue with your civil services prep if you feel passionate about it. Never feel defeated in life. It makes no sense to weigh your achievements (so called) with those of your peers. It is a very lucky person who knows exactly what he wants to do in life and does only that. Achievements and success as in the eyes of people who know you is hollow unless one derives happiness from it. You seem to have an extremely supportive family. Stop thinking that you are letting them down. And 26 is not the end of the world. Its just the time to start. If possible, write down the passions that drive you. Choose one of them and go after it with a vengeance...every day. Do ti even if you have a job that you consider lousy. So keep your head above the water and keep swimming. All you need to do is manage your time. All the best and keep up your blogging even with all the time constraints. It gives joy to a lot of people. All the Best

Thanu said...

I had to read the last para twice, so u r not in India... I was actually planning to call u up and meet up when I'm in tvm end of this year.

Good luck in everything. I love this blog, and to this day Chiriyo Chiri... remains my favorite post.

Geo said...

oh u r coming back here?

pls do let me know...

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on crossing two years and 100 posts. And may I say you have not faltered in a single post...the forthrightness and exemplary language of each post have been a treat to read. I am glad you put up a visitor counter as it serves as a reminder that people do care to read what you have written.
"recently, they just cant resist the urge to leave a comment though I really dont approve of it."
That was a condition when I started blogging, that no one from my friends circle or family comment on my blog :) They have kept their end of the bargain, though some have commented sometimes. I see more personal growth with Think Pad than with Poomanam which was my sand box actually...and even my friends thought I had it in me to be a writer while like you, my blog is just a vent for my frustrations, observations and creative instincts :)
Kudos on the observation about amateur writers, it does take a lot of courage to make your views known publicly.
Great post!!!

Anonymous said...

And I second everything Rajesh has said :) Keep walking...

Anonymous said...

Jiby,

Another ardent fan of urs.. Dunno how I stumbled upon ur blog...but have been a silent reader for long. Am a tvm resident and can identify with ur blog, the places , ur college and incidents. Kinda nostalgic it is.
Have met many classmates of urs….who work with me and hence framed a good image of u 
Ur writings leave me thinking for a long time.
I joined the IT field just to keep myself occupied till I found out what I needed to do.. But I liked it...and that s one thing am happy in my life about.
Joined engg coz every1 went for it... and joined IT coz i got placed in my first campus interview...and didnt know what to do with my life then.
Ur writings have something special in them … keep writing…and I do agree with ur dad  (jiby writing a book).

Sayz
RS

Jiby said...

rajesh,thanks a lot for the encouraging words man. am sorry i couldnt keep visiting your blog regularly. will do so as soon as things settle down.

thanu, too bad we couldnt meet up. have fun on your india trip...i can understand how excitedly you are looking forward to it. i think a second volume of chiriyo chiri needs to be put up soon...heard a lot more anecdotes from my pals that i had forgotten. hey hope u take up this tag soon.

geo, will let u know soon!

silverine, writing this post was made real easy after reading yours. i think you are the one blogger who noone can categorise. thank you once again for tagging me with this one.

RS, thanks and glad to know we have common friends, but why this mystery...you could have left a first name. i am giving myself a second chance...wonder if things will turn out differently.

anjaneyan, thanks...i think 2 years of blogging has helped in developing that coherency. good to see you leave a comment here...i noticed you had begun a blog but left it half way... startover, and sign up on the kerala blogroll...i am sure you will find many readers.

Matter of Choice said...

hey buddy...

gud luck with life...but hope u will give a def try again next year if u still want civil services..

dont know if u know a guy called Vyasan..he is based in tvm and the elder bro of a very close friend of mine...even he wrote n wrote UPSC umpteen no of times and finally got thru IRS last year...but he just wanted IAS and hence took leave and is trying again this year..

but i do hope u will continue blogging!

Cheers
MoC

der Bergwind said...

free flowing man... i wish i cud tag this particular thread but alas! am new to this blog-o-world n have no subscription as of now.. read write comment but don any back... sigh... thatz left a tear drop inside:)

nice read... great to find that words really sketch the emotionz inside!

Anonymous said...

Jiby,

I am yet another of the silent readers of your blog .. who decided to break silence.
Started reading your blog recently and admire the way you write :-)

I can relate almost to everything you write. I am also not sure about what to do with my life , even after completing quarter a century:-(
But never been brave enough to take charge of own life and swim against the current like you.

I want to write something good to boost your morale but my writing abilities fail me.:-(
Like most of others have commented above keep smiling and be 'Jiby'. Don't measure your success in other's scale.

I am from Trivandrum and spent four years in SCT. I am sure i must have seen you in college but can not recollect even talking to you.

Lekshmi

Anonymous said...

Jiby,

you are back in the US !! well maybe we could get in touch (i'm in miami).
I agree 100%, its the age of cluelessness - only option is to keep going *you know aim a lil high 'ope for a clear sky* and i pretty much share yur blogging philosophy *best part is whatever you post,you make sense*...keep going man and do keep posting :)

Jiby said...

anish, definitely i am giving upsc another shot though i dont think i'll be working as hard as last time. vyasan was my senior in school...i met him on the day of the exam at the centre.

saptarshi, even i didnt have any readers for 4-5 months till people started stumbling by. and you write so wonderfully...keep blogging...the satisfaction from comments should only be secondary.

lekshmi, thank you and glad to meet another sctian...i was one among a gang of rogues in college who spent most of our time outside the campus or giving headaches to teachers in class...dont think you owuld know me unless you were from the 98-02 batch.

bvn, thanks and i must tell you that you are the blogger who has impressed me the most, in recent times.

Anonymous said...

Jiby,

Why dont you try Law School in US? You think well, and write well. You dont have any immigration hassles. A lawyer's job would be a good choice for you.

Alex

hope and love said...

liked the way u handled the tag.. u have written in a very sincere manner..

Praveen said...

Great post! You write wonderfully well! Its amazing, i think i have been visiting your blog for more than a year and its refreshing to read your posts.

This post shows how much you enjoy posting.

Mind Curry said...

that was excellent jiby..and we all just love the way you bring up seemingly simple and small things in life..and then it becomes so big and so much to think about..

not a great thought to know you are leaving india and probably wont blog regularly..but i hope you do get to blog from usa.

hope we can catch up the next time you are here..and dont give up the ICS dream..i have a gut feeling you will get through..so keep trying!

ARK said...

that was so very well written and a must read for any dedicated blogger. all the very best for your future endeavors...

a big fan of yours...

mathew said...

hey best wishes for ur civil service exams...I loved ur ammachi blog..it was a pleasant read!!

Kusum Rohra said...

I completely agree with Rajesh here, weighing your achivements with your peers' is sure short receipe for disaster.

All the best for your ICS :)

Two years is definitely a long time, congratulations :)

Nicely done tag :) Am here from Silverine's blog.

Anonymous said...

Thought-provoking.

This is one of the blogs that I came to and went back and read the archived ones just because I liked the touch of it. Apart from Alexis Leon's, I find that this blog has the most personal touch, without any coating. Congrats.

-kajan

Anonymous said...

It is pronounced from your writing that you write from human angle. if you are a 2 yr old blogger then i'm comparitively a young salad to you, blogging from the past 8 months...when you have treaded this virtual ground so long, why not go on it a bit more?

Anonymous said...

he he...please tag flasshgordon,he got his soul mate thro his blog he says!!!