A Sentimental Soppy Century Post

This is a post which I have been meaning to write for a long while - there is no real reason for it, but it’s just been in the back of my mind. I also see that I am moving towards my 100 post at BlogSpot (and a few hundred more at rediffblogs) and the close of my 5th year (gasp!) of blogging – so it’s a good time as any to retrospect and get a little soppy no?

I started this blog on a whim – as an April Fool’s joke on myself. I was bored, overworked (and had a zero offline social life), most of my friends were out of Bombay and I had parted ways with a very dear friend which had left a lot of dammed up babble in my head.

And of course, I love writing (The cyber space is full of garrulous mails written in the early internet era) – so a blog served as a wonderful avenue for some narcissistic self indulgence.

Little did I know that it would actually survive this long. Half a decade, generations of bloggers (I can count three distinct ones which have passed through this site - shub, austro - shush, you belong to 2 1/2 of them), major changes in life, work, - everything. And the blog has captured, stored and reflected these back at me as I have grown (hopefully), changed (certainly), matured (questionably).

When I started out, I used to think the only readers I would have would be friends bullied into reading. I never thought that it would be a forum to meet such fantastic, supremely talented people, who would take the effort to read and to encourage and to become such great offline friends.

What I never, in my wildest dreams dared to think or hope, was that this blog of mine – full of disjointed rambles, blathering, rants has had the power to actually amuse, inform or even touch people. And occasionally it has, especially after posts like this and this; I have received such moving mails and comments that it leaves me feeling so humbled.

I don’t know why people like what I write (uhm...readers, you do no? *panic attack happening now*) – I know my technique is flawed, I’m hopeless at grammar, I write very, long convoluted sentences, I over-parenthesise and I er..write like a girl (S’s verdict ( wonder whether he sees the irony of that – complaining that his wife writes and thinks like a girl! (See there I go again with the brackets)), he vastly prefers saltwater blues blog to mine- I can’t even argue about that. I like SWB blog more than mine too.). The only saving grace (I hope) is that I write from my gut – because I love it, and because I love getting the feedback, the comments and the well, involvement of you all.

And that’s the reason that this blog has become my passion, my addiction and my escape. It has kept me (in?) sane when life is busy being a bitch. It has allowed the person who is often under cover in real life (except to a few very close friends and family) to live, nay, to flourish (True. Online and offline personalities quite schizophrenic – I am sure my in laws and casual acquaintances think I am a serious, aloof, quiet person)

So dear readers, dear lurkers and dear casual passer-bys, a long overdue Thank you to you. It’s been a great journey reading and being read by all of you and look forward to doing it for many, many more years (blogger’s block permitting). Comments, critiques, feedback and questions welcome.