Am an amateur blogger who’s just 24 posts old in the blogosphere. In this short time within the world of blogs, I have discovered a lot about me, my fellow bloggers and the readers!
Blogging has given me a window to showcase my thoughts – in written form and is helping me to convert my love for writing to an actual skill, that I am acquiring a little at a time. Am still testing waters of the online content world. Blogging has given me an opportunity to discuss some serious issues and topic which I probably couldn’t weave into a normal face to face conversation with people, lest I hurt someone’s sentiment.
A show of camaraderie from a fellow blogger lifts one confidence that yes! someone gives a hoot to what I write. (friends and family are our first readership, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you know that they are favoring you). A fellow blogger’s like and appreciative comments are purely for your writing and nothing else! absolutely nothing else!
Is it frivolous writing? Or is it Serious writing? the beauty of blogging is that you don’t need to be just one. There is no label to stick to. A blogger can write up on anything that one fancies. It is as unique as the person who writes. Just like each of us has a place of our own in this big world. We have more space for each in the world of blogs. Blogging gives one the freedom to be as raw as possible and stick to one’s core personality.
One of my fellow blogger Matheikal says this in his blog
“Getting published was quite a tough job. Blogging made it easy. Too easy. Hence everybody – well, almost – became a writer. But writing is not everybody’s job. A writer must give something to the reader to think about. Writing is about ideas. It’s not just putting words together. The reader must gain something. At least something to poke his imagination.”- Matheikal on Bloggin and some thoughts
His words reflect on one of my criteria for a write-up. Even if critiqued for the post, am I reaching out to my readers in little ways? Have I tickled someone’s imagination, gave them a smile, or made them shake their heads in disagreement? Or have I piqued their interest in a book, made them sit up to read a serious thought. If I have succeeded in getting these done. I have climbed the first rungs to become an effective writer.
One aspect of this world of blogs that has enthralled me and aspires me is the fact that so many bloggers have been at it for so long. Their followers and view counts are a testimony to their skill and tenacity. It is humbling to know that I do have a long way to go.
Blogging as a platform for self-promotion, for products or ideas or to even monetize it, is just an added feather in the cap.
At the end of it all, are we pseudo-writers? are we bathing in a delusion of being part of the literary world?
We may or we may not! what matters is that we are able to create a niche audience for ourselves. If being read by strangers, makes one a writer. Then we are to call ourselves so!
PS: This post is in response to IndiSpire Edition 162: #SeriousBlogging
cost only Rs7 and Maggi was Rs.15, half tea/coffee was Rs.3. So a simple after college snack cost not more than Rs. 10! 😀 Maggi was not so frequent at first. But by the end of college, “cheta oru maggi and full fry” were yelled out every day. The sagar bakery was its BMS (banana milkshake), bun omelette, egg and veg puffs and they did have many other edible food then went in-between the bun, but I just don’t seem to recall.
was walk-the-city tour. Even more interesting was that they took us to 3 different restaurants for the 3 courses of the meal. The first course – appetisers, were in a Mediterranean cuisine restaurant where we were served little bits of shrimps and goat cheese. Then after few sights, they took us to an Indian place called Gandhi for our main course. Finally for the drinks and desert, another place.
a beautiful tour of the city. I met a bunch of women travelling from the UK to celebrate one their friend’s birthday/anniversary. I had a jolly good time. Then off I went to see the Anne Frank House. For lunch, I chose to eat from a Lebanese place and opted for shawarma kind of a wrap. Was hungry and wanted to play safe. Walked all over Amsterdam and took the train back to Nieuwegein and packed a decent tasting pasta in the train station.
Pakistani/Bangladeshi restaurant. I experienced snow for the first time in Schweinfurt.
We had a taste of it and I had some amazing Oysters in a white wine sauce and the world famous Creme Brulee for desert.On the Saturday of our week in France, our hosts obliged and we went to the city of Paris. We went to see the Eiffel Tower and stayed there till the cold hurt my bones. Later I had dinner with a friend from college, who was living in Paris. Then back to my room.
Singapore is the usage of honey in a chicken dish. I mean, we were into Indo-Chinese food and we loved our spicy Chinese that we got in Bangalore. And so, the sweet chicken dish was not so welcomed. I loved Singapore’s food courts that are always around the corner. For $10 SGD we had 2 meat 1 rice combo. The china town’s street food was yet another palate dance. Where we had peanuts and honey and all things sweet into our noodles. That is where I learnt that the Malaysian flat noodles (which I love) 
was called kway-teow (Here in Chung wah they still end up calling in kothai.. am all???). I was introduced to the Satay which is basically like our kebabs but with sauces. It is a very on-the-go food. Another memory was the food court near Raffles Place (the banking district), that place was just an explosion of smells. They were strong coz most of them serve the meat of choice (chicken, beef, pork) steamed like a soup. Steamed meat has the most pungent smell. I was very eager to get out that place. Another food that I had I do remember is Singapore McDonald’s McSpicy. This is way before it was introduced in India and it didn’t even taste half as good as what was served in Singapore. The McSpicy there is succulent, juicy and flavourful. McD in India still hasn’t captured the taste of the non-veg eaters.
spice powders, main carb- noodles, rice. The catch is if you didn’t know what goes along with what, and how much needs to you go into the meal, you’ll end up with a disaster! but luckily the few of us who had some sense of cooking and ingredient compositions got it right. It became a meal I’d remember after 6 years!
Thai as it again seemed to a flavour profile like Indian. The next time she hosted me and took me home, I clearly told, I would love to eat some lasagne and Ceaser salad (she is an exceptional cook).
and white (coconut) chutney and my Dad always had chithranna there. On to our second course would be the Fruit chaat, this is where I learned the idea of adding some honey on to your fruits for that extra sweetness. Tip: always try to go for the fruits from the Muslim fruits stall vendors. They have the skill to choose the ripened good tasting fruits.
Then for the drink to wash it all down- the badam milk. They keep the milk ever-boiling on a HUGE shallow kadai. You could always ask for the extra maalai. Piping hot drink. Just pure awesome. Then at the end was this ‘thatha’ with a huge pappad.
guys treated me for my send off, they thought I would fly away to Germany. So they routed the taste routes on the street. We started off with some chaat and sugar cane juice and then moved on to Bun Congress from V B Bakery. (Congress for the uninitiated is nothing but really spicy roasted split groundnuts. 2 rupees is all that you needed to get a fistful of congress. It was a staple for many school goers back then). Then the baiji’s and the all-year-round obattu and oligai (dal and coconut poli’s). We didn’t go for dosa and idly coz we were full already. And so we finished off with masala soda.
Also on Food Street one can find, a heaven for the side snackers – Vaasavi Condiments, it is the place to go when the hitikbele season starts in Bangalore, you get hitikbele in all possible varieties- spicy, non spicy, garlicky, just salted, pepper salted etc. On Food street, you could get all the Shetty style snacks -curd kodbele was too ingenious for me.
Although I haven’t yet tried – it remains a bucket list item, to check out either Shivajinagar or MM road for the many varieties of non-veg food specially cooked during the month of Ramadan. Another street food during that season would be the onion samosa’s.
Note: offseason too is available, but not that tasty. It’s mango milkshake with cream and little cubes of Alphonso mangoes. They have pav bhaji, vada pav, dabeli and the faafda with chilly until late night.
second best to their rabdi Khulfi.They have a section each for mumbai chaat and delhi chaat- 2 very different chaat styles. Should try, to know the difference.
Thoughts and Ramblings of Me.... 