Why do I do what I do!

I know it’s a little late but it’s never too late to pay your respects. To the legend, Mr.Khushwant Singh. May your soul rest in peace.

Looks like my plan to write one post per week is not going to happen. I was inactive for a little while before my last entry but I wasn’t sitting ideal. I was going through some of the personal blogs (like this one) and found that many of them contained a post talking about why they started writing. So, I thought I should do it too (In simpler words, I could not think of a better topic to write on in the past couple of weeks).

To begin with, I always liked reading as far as I can remember. At the start of each new session brand new books arrived, and I went straight for the one with all the stories and started reading. It never felt like it was part of a curriculum (I still read those school books, they never get old). Apart from those I also received many books on Christmas and New years and birthdays and general days as well. Reading took me in a different, parallel world with all the characters and cities coming alive. I sometimes even did different voices for all the characters. Time spent reading was the best time spent (Correction, it still is). My zest for reading kept my brain imaginative and I started doing my own writing (sort of). I guess I liked to see the writers name in print, the thought of people remembering them, reading their works long after they had gone impressed the naïve me.

In the English question paper, the first question was to write an essay and for that we had to choose from 5 options varying from debate to intellectual to a completely open topic. I was the guy who did not even read the first four options and went for the last one, to compose an original story. Things ran their normal course for majority of the years, and then one fine morning, out of the blue our teacher praised the last piece I had done in the exams. When a teacher whom you respect truly praises a work that you feel is important to you, you can reach cloud nine pretty quickly. One little word of appreciation and I thought I was Shakespeare. Hence, began a little phase where I was writing seriously, badly yes, but with full dedication.

Come 2007 and we heard of a new writer whose books everyone (and by everyone I mean everyone) was reading. Irrespective of whether these people ever read any other piece of writing but they were keen on reading this guy’s novels. I wondered why? When I read his work, it felt as if I was reading the script for the next bollywood movie (and indeed nearly all of his books have got their celluloid versions). The reason for his success, for his books being on the reading list of more than half of educated India, I think was keeping it simple (not to mention occasional use of swearing and the ‘other’ stuff). I agree the stories were good, but this IIT-IIM grad knew how to make India read. I can say that the ‘coming’ of this writer during the time when I was seriously delusional that I do write well, instigated me further. Not as in, ‘I want to be like him’ but more along the lines of, ‘If he can, no reason I can’t.’

After that small fairy tale phase during the last years of my school life, I came to a place (which the world normally calls college) and I stopped. I know I should not have done it. Maybe a little bit every day would have kept me in the loop but the advanced technology got to me. What can I say; I was swayed away by a personal laptop with 24 Hr WiFi connection and really having nothing else to do. People get better at these things in college and I stagnated. I have finally woken up and let’s hope I do not stop again.   

In fact, this is not my first attempt at blogging. I did put up one of my story here on this very blog but had to take it down after I got like zero views. It might have been because I never shared it with anyone (or even remotely mention it) and expected readers to turn up magically but at that time it felt odd sharing it on facebook (Not anymore. I am going to force my writing onto the world).  This time I am here to stay and certainly hope that I do.

What is your story? Why do you do whatever it is that you do? Tell the world and as always, feedback will be appreciated.