Its been quite some time since I have had anything new to put on this blog. Seems the Storyteller is running out of stories. That's not the way it is. At some level, these stories have been a part of me. Some incident that happened to me, or someone I know or just some curious observation, that set the pen rolling on the paper.
Writing does come as a passion to me and as some creative work takes form, I often wonder whether it is just me who likes what is written. I ask my friends to be open critics and their honest suggestions do help to improve. This also lets me know that I am being appreciated. Its nice to have a small fan following.
Some words of criticism that I have received so far are that the stories get too profound, too philosophical and at times too personal. Can't blame anyone for that. Having lived a story, I find it easier to narrate the incidence more sincerely and incidents that inspire are told with even more intensity. A friend told me that my attempt at a light funny story lacked the punch and humour. Well that's a positive feedback in a way since now there is more room for improvement.
I don't want this to be just another blog. The Storyteller wants to tell stories with words that reach out and touch the reader. Anything that inspires a story worth telling and stirs the writer in me, shall and will make it to this blog. If blogging were an art and I were an artist, then let this canvas be painted with most beautiful, colorful, funny, intense, inspiring and maybe thought provoking stories.
The Storyteller will take a leave now, got some stories to pen down.
Dec 31, 2007
Oct 6, 2007
Happy Anniversary
To Mom and Dad...
"This day marks an important milestones in the lives of my parents. The gamut of expressions that I am seeing on their face is a rich mixture of happiness, tears of joy and a little bit of bewilderment.
They have been there for each other, standing besides one another for 25 years and I have been a part of this journey for 22 years. This span has given me a chance to have a deep insight into their lives.
Though it is difficult to recollect much when I was a tiny toddler, but I knew I would always be safe with the constant love and care that they had for me. Life was very easy then.But infants grow into kids and kids behave like brats at times. That was enough to invite all the trouble I could handle.
Almost everyone present here is well conversant with my dad's temper. I guess you could empathize with me, especially when I was only 10 years old then.
But where there is anger, there is love and the hand caresses longer after it has slapped a cheek or two.
At every walk of my life I have needed and always been blessed by their support and affection. Be it the yesteryears when I was in school or the more recent years of graduation. Their selfless devotion towards my well being is something which I would never forget in my lifetime.
For all these years I not only witnessed their love for their kids but all the sweet and bitter moments among themselves. The marital tussles and some pretty worse arguments, at times, always ended very well, which have strengthened their relationship and love for each other and I today I know they are the happiest couple around.
For all this and more, I sometimes look up to HIM. HE just looks down and smiles for a job well done. I smile back too, because I know I have the best parents in the world.
Happy 25th Anniversary"
This is a small speech that I read out at the function we had, on occasion of my parents' 25th wedding anniversary in 2004. My cousins had planned the function really well and I was asked to participate in any possible way. Singing some song or performing anything else was out of question. I know I am not good at that. So a small speech made a perfect anniversary present. But I was so busy with chores of the day, that I kept postponing the time when I would sit down and start writing one. This speech was not ready until just 45 minutes before our function. Impromptu, huh!
"This day marks an important milestones in the lives of my parents. The gamut of expressions that I am seeing on their face is a rich mixture of happiness, tears of joy and a little bit of bewilderment.
They have been there for each other, standing besides one another for 25 years and I have been a part of this journey for 22 years. This span has given me a chance to have a deep insight into their lives.
Though it is difficult to recollect much when I was a tiny toddler, but I knew I would always be safe with the constant love and care that they had for me. Life was very easy then.But infants grow into kids and kids behave like brats at times. That was enough to invite all the trouble I could handle.
Almost everyone present here is well conversant with my dad's temper. I guess you could empathize with me, especially when I was only 10 years old then.
But where there is anger, there is love and the hand caresses longer after it has slapped a cheek or two.
At every walk of my life I have needed and always been blessed by their support and affection. Be it the yesteryears when I was in school or the more recent years of graduation. Their selfless devotion towards my well being is something which I would never forget in my lifetime.
For all these years I not only witnessed their love for their kids but all the sweet and bitter moments among themselves. The marital tussles and some pretty worse arguments, at times, always ended very well, which have strengthened their relationship and love for each other and I today I know they are the happiest couple around.
For all this and more, I sometimes look up to HIM. HE just looks down and smiles for a job well done. I smile back too, because I know I have the best parents in the world.
Happy 25th Anniversary"
This is a small speech that I read out at the function we had, on occasion of my parents' 25th wedding anniversary in 2004. My cousins had planned the function really well and I was asked to participate in any possible way. Singing some song or performing anything else was out of question. I know I am not good at that. So a small speech made a perfect anniversary present. But I was so busy with chores of the day, that I kept postponing the time when I would sit down and start writing one. This speech was not ready until just 45 minutes before our function. Impromptu, huh!
Sep 30, 2007
I was a teenager once...
Teenage is an exciting phase of life. As you gear up to meet a new world, nothing can challenge the confidence, the enthusiasm and the spirit. This is where you decide for yourself, what is right and what is not. You have that liberty, but sometimes maybe not just yet.
Your hormones are going crazy. They cant understand why they are acting that way, but in the process, whats taking form is a rebel. A restless youth with incessant energy, loads of kewl attitude who thinks he is on top of the world. All those raging hormones rarely think about the consequences of their actions.
Home is no place for such attitude show-off. But the rebel does not want to be succumbed anywhere and what follows is a bitter argument full of disrespect for elders. A teenager may not look at things with the same perspective as his parents and may completely overlook a valid rationale for some things and actions.
I was a teenager once. What I say has happened to me at some time or other. Years have gone by and now I find myself doing some curious retrospection.
All that show of kewl attitude is good enough for bragging in front of college crowd, but I learnt that it does not help if you are at a job. The world beyond teenage will take no time to humble you. It will crush you if you resist. The i-know-all or i-know-better attitude blocks the ability and willingness to learn anything new. Arrogance can prove hazardous for a career in making.
Also have I long forgotten those bitter arguments with parents, albeit just because of a difference in opinion. Over the period a sense of responsibility sinks in and I realised that there is no better friend than your father and no better listener than your mother. The support you can expect from your own family is far stronger and reliable than those teenage friends you once had. The rebel soon gives way to realization of unending love, support and caring.
Teenage is that phase of life where you try to find your identity as an individual. Find where you stand in this world. But this cannot be at the cost of where you come from. The new you will always find its roots where it came from and that is why parents have to be given due respect and attention. Respect your roots as they are strong foundation for the future. If at any point, you think you cannot handle the challenges of this world, just turn to your roots and find shelter. No place can be more comforting.
I have lived through and realized all this. That rebel needs to be heard, those hormones will surge but take care not to damage the shelter you are fortunate to have. Couple years down the line, as you look back, hope what you see is a confident, strong-willed, dependable you in the making and not the dishevelled, broken strings of relations gone bad and repent as it is too late to make things right.
Your hormones are going crazy. They cant understand why they are acting that way, but in the process, whats taking form is a rebel. A restless youth with incessant energy, loads of kewl attitude who thinks he is on top of the world. All those raging hormones rarely think about the consequences of their actions.
Home is no place for such attitude show-off. But the rebel does not want to be succumbed anywhere and what follows is a bitter argument full of disrespect for elders. A teenager may not look at things with the same perspective as his parents and may completely overlook a valid rationale for some things and actions.
I was a teenager once. What I say has happened to me at some time or other. Years have gone by and now I find myself doing some curious retrospection.
All that show of kewl attitude is good enough for bragging in front of college crowd, but I learnt that it does not help if you are at a job. The world beyond teenage will take no time to humble you. It will crush you if you resist. The i-know-all or i-know-better attitude blocks the ability and willingness to learn anything new. Arrogance can prove hazardous for a career in making.
Also have I long forgotten those bitter arguments with parents, albeit just because of a difference in opinion. Over the period a sense of responsibility sinks in and I realised that there is no better friend than your father and no better listener than your mother. The support you can expect from your own family is far stronger and reliable than those teenage friends you once had. The rebel soon gives way to realization of unending love, support and caring.
Teenage is that phase of life where you try to find your identity as an individual. Find where you stand in this world. But this cannot be at the cost of where you come from. The new you will always find its roots where it came from and that is why parents have to be given due respect and attention. Respect your roots as they are strong foundation for the future. If at any point, you think you cannot handle the challenges of this world, just turn to your roots and find shelter. No place can be more comforting.
I have lived through and realized all this. That rebel needs to be heard, those hormones will surge but take care not to damage the shelter you are fortunate to have. Couple years down the line, as you look back, hope what you see is a confident, strong-willed, dependable you in the making and not the dishevelled, broken strings of relations gone bad and repent as it is too late to make things right.
Sep 25, 2007
Hobbies: Revived!
As a kid, when someone asked me about my hobbies, I would say reading or maybe painting. Yes reading was something I really liked as a school kid and a local library was my frequently visited place. Equally interested in painting, I would spend time trying to draw landscapes, nature and some stills. Those were the days when life spared enough time to pursue these activities.
But soon things changed and as I got through to high school and college, I let go of these hobbies under the pretext that there wasn't enough time. And what was I doing when I had spare time? Lazying around the house or watching TV while relaxing on the sofa. These aimless waste-of-time activities soon filled up my routine and I was finding it difficult even to read the daily newspaper in the morning. Probably it was lack of commitment or plain laziness on my part that I never opened a book in past seven years.
Hey don't mistake these for college books at all. Doing an engineering course leaves you immersed in loads of technical books, each one thicker than the other. Tackling study volume came naturally to me and the fat books never intimidated me. But I was loosing touch with the reader within me. Finally graduation was through, that too with flying colors. All the pain-staking technical reading had paid off. By then the reader in me had gone dormant. Nothing interested me anymore; No books, newspaper, magazines or novels. It was back to being a couch potato wasting all the time in front of the idiot box catching MTV, FTV and the likes. The painter within me had also died long before. Things weren't right. But I wasn't complaining either.
Soon job became a priority, sometimes demanding fourteen hours or more a day. Frustrations would reach their peak bringing along lot of restlessness. It was then that I found solace in books again. Reading interesting spy novels, thrillers, occasional self help books for motivation and learning way of life. The more I read, the more my curiosity aroused. I always knew that books were a man's best friends and I was certainly embracing them after a long time. I would spend weekends shopping for books and have quite some collection now. I won't say I have a voracious appetite for books as yet, but I am definitely getting there.
Reading novels also brought a creative writer in me to life. I used to maintain a diary, much like a daily journal, where I would write about the job frustrations, aspirations in life and vent out some anger as well. Writing the diary did not last for long, but when a fellow friend introduced me to blogging, it was a whole new world for the creative me. I have been blogging for more than a year now and though I only have a small fan following, it is the process that I enjoy rather than the outcome. Writing a blog, telling some story has its own ecstasy. Wonder if I can join some course to enhance my creative writing. The search in on. Maybe someday I will write a book.
Another hue got added to this spectrum of reviving hobbies. With a recent purchase of a high end digital camera, I find myself intrigued by digital photography as well. And though I am a novice, I am finding it irresistible to find more material that will teach me the basics. With sufficient practice, I will gradually start taking better pictures. Maybe photo-blogging could be my next venture. Who knows!
The journey of this revival seems to have just started and I will definitely make more time to nurture it. Throw the i-have-no-time excuse out of the window and start making good use of it. Seems, it is not about how much time you have got, but what good can you make of it. So next time someone asks me about my hobbies, I will have many interesting stories to tell.
But soon things changed and as I got through to high school and college, I let go of these hobbies under the pretext that there wasn't enough time. And what was I doing when I had spare time? Lazying around the house or watching TV while relaxing on the sofa. These aimless waste-of-time activities soon filled up my routine and I was finding it difficult even to read the daily newspaper in the morning. Probably it was lack of commitment or plain laziness on my part that I never opened a book in past seven years.
Hey don't mistake these for college books at all. Doing an engineering course leaves you immersed in loads of technical books, each one thicker than the other. Tackling study volume came naturally to me and the fat books never intimidated me. But I was loosing touch with the reader within me. Finally graduation was through, that too with flying colors. All the pain-staking technical reading had paid off. By then the reader in me had gone dormant. Nothing interested me anymore; No books, newspaper, magazines or novels. It was back to being a couch potato wasting all the time in front of the idiot box catching MTV, FTV and the likes. The painter within me had also died long before. Things weren't right. But I wasn't complaining either.
Soon job became a priority, sometimes demanding fourteen hours or more a day. Frustrations would reach their peak bringing along lot of restlessness. It was then that I found solace in books again. Reading interesting spy novels, thrillers, occasional self help books for motivation and learning way of life. The more I read, the more my curiosity aroused. I always knew that books were a man's best friends and I was certainly embracing them after a long time. I would spend weekends shopping for books and have quite some collection now. I won't say I have a voracious appetite for books as yet, but I am definitely getting there.
Reading novels also brought a creative writer in me to life. I used to maintain a diary, much like a daily journal, where I would write about the job frustrations, aspirations in life and vent out some anger as well. Writing the diary did not last for long, but when a fellow friend introduced me to blogging, it was a whole new world for the creative me. I have been blogging for more than a year now and though I only have a small fan following, it is the process that I enjoy rather than the outcome. Writing a blog, telling some story has its own ecstasy. Wonder if I can join some course to enhance my creative writing. The search in on. Maybe someday I will write a book.
Another hue got added to this spectrum of reviving hobbies. With a recent purchase of a high end digital camera, I find myself intrigued by digital photography as well. And though I am a novice, I am finding it irresistible to find more material that will teach me the basics. With sufficient practice, I will gradually start taking better pictures. Maybe photo-blogging could be my next venture. Who knows!
The journey of this revival seems to have just started and I will definitely make more time to nurture it. Throw the i-have-no-time excuse out of the window and start making good use of it. Seems, it is not about how much time you have got, but what good can you make of it. So next time someone asks me about my hobbies, I will have many interesting stories to tell.
Sep 20, 2007
Just Pooling Around...
Work can occasionally get mundane and the only saviors, of such a lull, are a few corporate activities that aim to make the workplace, a fun place to be. Though few and far between, everyone looks forward for some fantastic events to be organised. And so when the memo for pool championship in my department was circulated, me and a friend sent out our nominations and started with some serious practice.
The tournament schedule was soon out and surprisingly not many teams were participating. A little turn down for the organizers as lesser participation did not serve the purpose of organising the event at all. But this came as a good news to us, it meant lesser competition favoring a better chance of winning. Then came a shock, if I should say so, there was but one team of girls participating and we were pitched against them for the eliminations. If I were to praise myself at the game, I am neither a novice nor a pro, which means luck has a lot bigger role to play if I were to win a game! The word soon went around that we are being challenged by a bunch of girls for the eliminations. It almost became a prestige issue for us to win this game because loosing to girls was just not acceptable! We had never seen them at the pool table before and so were apprehensive about their skills at the game.
The game started and pretty soon it was obvious, who was the champion at the table. No. It wasn't them. It wasn't us either. Both teams were equally pathetic at the game and it was becoming difficult to point out who sucked more at the game. Curious onlookers cheered on initially but were soon loosing interest in our game. Occasional cheers made us feel good, but another poor shot would dampen the enthusiasm. I could see fewer people watching our game, as most made their way to a more exciting game being played at the next table.
Gradually pocketing the stripes we made ourselves comfortable and started playing with some confidence. After a few hits and a lot misses, it was just the black ball on the table and for some reason it just refused to go into the called pocket. Now our best chance was to wait for them to make some mistake and use it to our advantage. We had had enough of this and wanted an end to the ordeal. The drooling game drew to an end when we had a golden chance to pot the black ball and register a victory, though not a well deserved one. My partner took the cue, called the pocket and hit it well. What followed was most unprecedented for, we did pot the black ball, unfortunately in the wrong pocket, forfeiting the game. Owing much to the poor show of talent, we were awarded with this unfortunate loss. I cannot say that the better team won, nor did they win on their merit.
After all that pooling around, pun intended, I can't help but put things in this perspective - Poor show of talent : Some sympathies from onlookers ; Losing to the only girls team : Some more embarrassment for days to come ; The look on the girls' faces when they won : Priceless!!
The tournament schedule was soon out and surprisingly not many teams were participating. A little turn down for the organizers as lesser participation did not serve the purpose of organising the event at all. But this came as a good news to us, it meant lesser competition favoring a better chance of winning. Then came a shock, if I should say so, there was but one team of girls participating and we were pitched against them for the eliminations. If I were to praise myself at the game, I am neither a novice nor a pro, which means luck has a lot bigger role to play if I were to win a game! The word soon went around that we are being challenged by a bunch of girls for the eliminations. It almost became a prestige issue for us to win this game because loosing to girls was just not acceptable! We had never seen them at the pool table before and so were apprehensive about their skills at the game.
The game started and pretty soon it was obvious, who was the champion at the table. No. It wasn't them. It wasn't us either. Both teams were equally pathetic at the game and it was becoming difficult to point out who sucked more at the game. Curious onlookers cheered on initially but were soon loosing interest in our game. Occasional cheers made us feel good, but another poor shot would dampen the enthusiasm. I could see fewer people watching our game, as most made their way to a more exciting game being played at the next table.
Gradually pocketing the stripes we made ourselves comfortable and started playing with some confidence. After a few hits and a lot misses, it was just the black ball on the table and for some reason it just refused to go into the called pocket. Now our best chance was to wait for them to make some mistake and use it to our advantage. We had had enough of this and wanted an end to the ordeal. The drooling game drew to an end when we had a golden chance to pot the black ball and register a victory, though not a well deserved one. My partner took the cue, called the pocket and hit it well. What followed was most unprecedented for, we did pot the black ball, unfortunately in the wrong pocket, forfeiting the game. Owing much to the poor show of talent, we were awarded with this unfortunate loss. I cannot say that the better team won, nor did they win on their merit.
After all that pooling around, pun intended, I can't help but put things in this perspective - Poor show of talent : Some sympathies from onlookers ; Losing to the only girls team : Some more embarrassment for days to come ; The look on the girls' faces when they won : Priceless!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)