On writing blogs.

I love to write. So I post blogs. Ego whispers to me that I write well- in fact very well-; brain sardonically questions that and goes to sleep. The reality is that what remains in the memory of the reader a few months after he or she has read the blog is a well written blog. Rest of it is well -“love’s labor lost”.

Anand – my nephew- told me that he would love to post a few blogs, but is afraid that it could become addictive. He is partly right. The real difficulty in posting a reasonably interesting blog is identifying an interesting general purpose topic and getting adequate information and anecdotes to decorate it well. The readers – a majority of them- would belong to younger generation as they are more ‘tech savvy’. However for a 50 plus person like me; the peers I may be addressing to would be of equivalent age with varying interest and ablity in accessing net or blogs.

So what do I do? I send my link to all my g mail relatives. Most of them correspnd with me for their children’s marriage. They have become familiar with net thru Tamil Matrimony .com kind of site. Our community has survived so far by being adaptable to changing times. So even grand mothers belonging to 19th century thinking ( are you aware that electric rice cookers do not conform to true religious customs as the electronic parts cannote be opened and washed with water- ) and born in 20th century are aware on the possibility of internet and its ability to pass off an otherwise “slow moving product” in an uncertain matrimonial market.

So how do I address this audience who stand at the edge of my market for possible readers? The simplest is catch hold of an admirer/well wisher who has in a weak moment appreciated my ravings on the web and push a print out of all the recent blogs for them to read. The more important purpose is that they should discreetly or even aggresively compel other helpless close relatives to read it and convey appreciation. The circle gets completed when some relatives and acquaintances convey appreciation.

At a more serious level, I could understand my limitations when Padma suggested a few topics I could write on. We can communicate well on topics we are personally familiar with. But on other topics of general interest (where any one could give some view or other) our views have to be supported by some interesting facts, figure, experiences- first hand or hearsay- to make it readabale. For example on a subject like education, good governance by Government, corruption and so on, every one would have a view. But few would read or hear such views unless it is made interesting by giving a unique view point or situation.

Writing is an act of creation emerging from an indivdual’s mind- that is creating something out of nothing. Any great act of creation gets a reward totally disproportonate with its intrisnic value. One classic example that I am able to relate to is painting. The actual cost of canvas, paint and human labor may be minimal in monetary terms. But the reward- in monetary and non monetary terms- that a great painting gets is many times the multiple of its intrisnic value. So the satisfaction that such a creator would get would also be many times the multiple of the efforts he has put in.

So where do I go from here in the blogosphere? Follow my ego or brain? I think ego would lead in the front. Once in a while I will look back at the brain for confirmation. If the brain is sleeping I will ignore it. If it is awake, I will casually seek its views.

At this stage Shivam’s – my grandson- image comes in front of me. Whenever he tries to imitate or do what is impossible for him to do- he looks at his mother or father for appreciation/cofirmation. There is a beautiful smile, tinged with some doubt, on his face. The child seeks approval from parent because his entire world comprises of his mother and father only. For an adult (whose parents have gone in search of another and perhaps a better world), the approval has to come from the world he resides in. So somewhere in the heart there is child residing within the man in me.