FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Exactly a year back, on this day, I started blogging.  Though I have always been a storyteller, I never considered blogging as an option.  My niece and brother have been blogging for quite some time, but I never ever thought I would join the bandwagon. 

When I read Khushwant Singh’s “Death At My Doorstep” early last year, I got curious to know how people would remember me after my death and requested my friend P.R.Govind, an avid blogger to write my obituary.  “Request” is not the appropriate term, as I pestered him every now and then to write my obituary.  He obliged and as planned, posted it on 1st April 2011.(Goodbye My Friend)  As I posted this link on my facebook status, my friend Vivek Joshi, requested me to write his obituary.  When Mr.Govind was hesitant to write my obituary, I could not empathize with his sentiments, but when Vivek Joshi requested me to do the same for him, I too got little sentimental.  So, to satisfy my sentiment, I wrote a post-dated obituary and posted it on my blog and thus I started this wonderful journey.

Twelve months, 20 posts, 903 page views, the pleasure in incredible.  Though I have never crossed the Vindhyas, my blog is not only read across India, but across the globe.  It is indeed heartening to note that, within minutes of my posting a blog, some one starts reading it.  Most of my friends who have patiently read my blogs have given me a feedback.  While appreciation is motivating, criticisms are enlightening.  “Not at all dirty – a tribute to Silk Smitha” has had the most page views.  Though the very title of my blog “Sorry my dear friends!” sounds apologetic, my girl friends are unforgiving about my observations and the remarks I made in my blog.  They feel I am prejudiced.  “Pride and Prejudice could become controversial” – warned my well-wishers.  Fortunately, it didn’t.  I wrote it without any prejudice.  An unknown reader read it everyday for a week exactly at the same time and I was eager to know his/her views.  Sadly he/she has not left any comments on the blog.  After I post a blog, I keep monitoring the page views, the audience, the traffic source and the search keywords.  I was amused to see a person keying “which direction head should be placed during sleep is best to have child for childless couple as per Vastu?” and probably my recent blog, “What’s this Vastu di?” was one of the results he/she got.

This new found platform for expression has given me immense pleasure.  The only disadvantage is that people who are very close to me are little guarded in their speech now and whenever they say something controversial, they immediately request me not to quote them in any of my blogs.

It has been a wonderful journey and I take this opportunity to thank Vivek Joshi, who initiated me into this, Govind for being my Guru, my niece Varsha for helping me to start the blog,  my brothers Hemantha Kumar and Satyanarayana for not just regularly following my blog and appreciating, but also for letting me to express myself thus acknowledging my adulthood (through out they have been very protective), my friends Anuja and Aparajita for giving their unbiased opinion when I share the content with them before posting, my friends, Murali, Prakash, Ganga, Uma & Uma, Geetha, Lakshmi, Padma,  Sujata, Aparna, Sharmila, Rupali, Srividya, Anup, Natarajan, Nitin, Sudha, Bobby, Radha, Hema and others, whose names I have missed and all the unknown followers across the globe, who have read my blog.

Though my parents, my sister, my sisters-in-law, my brother-in-law, my little nephews and niece don’t read my blog, I will be failing in my duty if I don’t acknowledge, as they all contribute to the development of my personality.

Being an eternal optimist, I know there is a long way to go and the best is yet to come.

I thank all my readers and close with a request to please leave your valuable comments on the blog or mail to pcharusree@gmail.com.

Thanks once again!

Regards,

Charusree