In celebration of my ‘Half-century’

50, that number might have different meanings for different people from different fields. For me, it currently is evoking a feeling of pride. Why you ask? Oh well you see last week I completed 50 posts in this blog of mine. So what is the big deal then? Well not for you obviously, but it is a big deal for me. And a very massive one at that when I sit and ponder over it.

When I started this blog two and a half years ago, I had absolutely no inkling that I will even get close to reaching this number. Those days I used to pen my writings in a simple ruled copy and it was a huge deal for me to get into this MS Word mode. I wasn’t very tech-savvy then and to even start this blog was a monumental achievement for me. I was all at sea then; “What shall I write about?”, “Who will read my stuff? Why will they read it? “What if they make fun of my writings?”. These and many more such doubts used to plague my mind. But the initial response I got boosted my confidence and pumped me up to keep writing and it has remained such to date.

I wrote and wrote, sometimes I would take a self-imposed sabbatical, but would be back again sooner rather than later. In fact, the time I would not write for my blog I would feel uneasy; almost like I am cheating on my spouse. Yes, it indeed is a strange  connection I have with it. But never have I written for the sake of writing; I always wrote when I felt like it. Over these years I have written on varied topics here; cricket, human –interest, my opinions, wildlife etc. Each post, without sounding pompous, required a considerable amount of toil from my side. I cannot say that I love all of them equally, but I definitely cherish each one of them, some more than the others, for their own reasons.  

Life is all about celebrating small moments and memories. This is a small yet very significant achievement for me in many ways that I shall never be able to explain. Hence, today I go back and select the Top 5 writings, from the overall 50, of this blog. Yes it might sound excruciatingly stupid to many of you, but hell I am in a mood for self-indulgence and shall go ahead with it and do some self-celebration. So here goes:

(If you wish to read any of the below mentioned articles, just click on its title, which is a link, and it will open up the respective  post.)

While we were sleeping:   The first ‘real’ post in this blog. This one is by no means even close to my best writing but it would remain in my top spot forever purely because of the way it came about. I did not have any idea then on how to begin writing for my blog, or what to start with. I did not want it to be something ordinary. As it turned out this post was inspired by a true incident that happened to me and my friend. The incident left a strong impact on me and by a good stroke of luck I got the inspiration of penning it down. I remember thinking about it while travelling in an auto and then excitedly going back home and writing it down that very night. The response I got for it was quite overwhelming and it still remains the second most ‘liked’ post of mine. As things turned out, my friend (who was involved in the incident) loved the post and egged me on to make a docu-feature on the same subject. I did so and amazingly it went on to win the ‘Best Docu’ award at my college function. Imagine how just a small incident can inspire you to do so many things. This incident taught me that inspiration always lurks right around you; we just have to find it. If I want I can make the many changes that are required in this post; the grammatical errors, sentence framing etc. But I don’t’. I like it this way. It shows me of how much I have progressed. Like they say, ‘some good things are better left untouched’.

We the people:I consider this as one of my best writings. It was Independence Day and when I woke up in the morning I somehow had the urge to write something. More so when I opened my Facebook account and saw the usual I-Day ‘tags’ and ‘Proud to be an Indian’ posts. It irked me and I just sat down and wrote this post. I had not planned it at all; it was one of those ‘spur of the moment’ acts. After I had written it down I felt good about myself, having siphoned off a considerable amount of my uneasiness that I had felt.I wrote down almost everything that I felt is wrong with our society’s mindset. If today I sit and think of trying to better this post for another I- Day article I won’t be able to do so.  I seriously do think I shall not be able to better it.

Love thy neighbour...Only if he lets you to!! : I had written many cricket related write-ups before this one on my blog but this one is my favourite primarily for the topic concerned. It came about again after getting peeved with an incident that had happened before the Indo-Pak match in the 2011 World Cup. Pakistan obviously never lets an opportunity amiss to make me hate them; there have been incidents prior and later to this one which evoked similar and more hatred in me against them. But since this one was related to cricket I decided to pen it down. After I write any of my writing, I asses it on the basis of the satisfaction it provides me. And this one scores highly in that regard. I successfully managed to vent out my bottled up rage against their scumbag cricketers and also touched upon the larger issue concerning Indo-Pak relations. Though it did not really make me happy, it definitely made me feel cooled down a bit. Like my best friend commented on this post- ‘this is one of your best articles’. I second him on that.

Those ‘really’ were the days: This one again is not one of my best writings but will remain special for different reasons. I wrote it at a time when I was going through a transitional and emotional phase in my life. It made me feel increasingly nostalgic and made me crave for my yester-years desperately. So like I do most times when I go through a varying range of emotions; I wrote. Nostalgia is a massive word and includes a wide vista of memories and emotions. It is exceedingly difficult to put all those down in a 2000 word article. But I managed it somehow, and felt good about it in the end. It made me happy and made me forget over my inner troubles for a while. I covered the most significant parts of my nostalgia quite well I believe. I liked the way I began and loved the way I ended it, especially because I had got the idea for this one while travelling (again in an auto; well I do think a lot while I travel and it has inspired me for many of my write-ups). I had initially thought that people will get bored reading it and wouldn't really relate to it. But the response I got was simply amazing. It seemed like I had made everyone go back in time and relive their nostalgia. People wanted me to write more on this and some even suggested to come out with a part-2! It pleased me immensely. I kept re-reading it many times over and still do sometimes.

Ek tha ‘so-called star’:  The most ‘liked’ of all my posts, this one is indeed a special one. I had been intending to write on this fellow for quite some time. I had had debates on this issue with many of my friends and many had urged me to write on this. It took me some time but when I finally wrote it down I found it hilarious. For once I shunned out the journalist in me and wrote down with a kind of sadistic madness. It was ‘mad’ writing but a thoroughly refreshing one. The response again was quite fantastic, leaving out the ‘Salu’ fans of course. And even when I read it now I find it quite surprising on how I managed to write like this. I had written one more ‘filmy’ post prior to this but this one wins hands down purely because of its significance and the unique satisfaction it brought about. I carried out all my years of feelings towards this imbecile and channeled it into one article, and did it quite well I might add.  After reading this I got a call from an ex-friend of mine whom I hadn't talked to in ages. He told me, “I have become your fan. What a writer you are! Simply amazing.” This was like the icing on the cake; a cake which was really sumptuous.

                                                                            ****

Without sounding arrogant I have to say it was indeed a mightily difficult task to choose these five from the overall 50. There are many which I would have liked to see here, Esther Friede’s article, an article I had written on my best friend who is a film-maker (but these two weren't exactly written for my blog so that is the reason I didn't pick them), some cricket writings, some personal opinions, and a few others; but then it is simply impossible to choose all. Hence this is it then; my selected top 5.

This blog of mine holds a pivotal place in my life. It is like that link which connects me to my readers and helps me grow in confidence as a writer. I do not know how far will I eventually reach but I will always hold this blog special for it was the first step I took to present my only skill to the real world. It has given me many good memories and emotions. After every post I would eagerly await the feedback in those initial days (I still do) and would be pleased to get good responses from my friends. Sometimes even strangers have sent me messages telling me how they appreciate my writings, and how they get inspired by it. That really is the biggest thing that keeps me motivated to write more and more; my readers and their love. And now, unbelievably, I can also see that this blog is read by people in the USA, Germany and even Russia.   (See pic)                                                          

I have crossed 50 after a lot of hard-work and patience and by God’s grace would maybe even touch a 100 someday. Eventually I want to be a good and established writer one day and this blog has helped me immensely in achieving that goal to some extent. With each writing I have grown as a writer, and this journey is obviously never-ending, and I wish to continue like this till my last breath. My cricket writings would now perhaps not be found here as I have discovered a different platform for it, but I shall always continue penning my varied thoughts here. It helps me feel normal; it helps in making me happy. I will keep writing no matter what, I will write when I am happy, when I am angry and when I am emotional. But the writing shall never stop.

Lastly, I thank each and every one of you who has read any of my posts in my blog. Many have praised me many have not, but I still thank all of you; even those whom I do not know personally and yet who have contributed in making this blog grow. A really big THANK YOU to each one of you. Without you readers I would be nothing. I would just be an insignificant blob in this world. Please do keep reading my writings the way you always have. It is the only skill I posses and with you people around I find a reason to write. I will die one day like everyone else, but my writings and my readers would hopefully be around to keep me alive forever. That is what I wish to attain in life. And this blog will hopefully be around to see me through my tough and happy times; helping me in scoring centuries and double centuries. Hopefully you will all be around to see me through that dream. This is the reason I celebrate this 'tiny' achievement with you all today; as you all too are very much a part of this feat of mine.

So see you readers; until next time. Or shall I say, until my next post. Like I said, the writing shall never stop. Adios.