Bloggers and their types

I was suffering from a bloggers block :), which actually set me thinking on why people blog and if we can categorise the various types of blogs and their bloggers. So here goes my attempt.....

1) Personal Bloggers - These are the kinds who blog about their personal lives, its more like maintaining an online diary. They probably want to connect with their friends (with whom otherwise contact is difficult) or maybe its an outlet for their emotions. Maybe they find it easier to write about things than talk....

2) Information Bloggers - These are the boring people (like my husband...:) hehehe), who write to share information with others on various topics. This could be anything from Technology, tourism, travel, cameras and whatever else comes to our mind! This is where you go when you need good experienced views on various topics.

3) Random Bloggers - They just blog randomly on anything they can think of and feel like blogging about. They cover various things ranging from their personal life to their experiences to information to just anything as random as this blog!

4) Point of View bloggers - These are the kind of people who are critics/reviewers and like to express their views/opinions on books/movies/destinations/restaurants etc. Some of them are good reads to prepare yourself beforehand.

Well my block has kicked in again and I will stop here....if i can think of anything else will add to this list.

Do you have anything to add?

Friends....

No I am not going to talk about the series Friends (which btw is one of my favourite series). I am talking about friends who sometimes become closer than family, more than family and if you have spent time n hostels than perhaps your family.
From the time we start going to school (basically out of our parents' safe little nest), we meet a variety of people. And I am sure we keep meeting people forever.....
With some people we have an instant connection and you know that relation will last you a lifetime. And then there are some which start slow, grow and mature over time and then end up being a forever relation. There are people who you hate at sight and you know that is one which will never work out, and then you have people who are just good or okay friends.
They are with us when we need them the most, they listen to us when the whole world shuts out on us, believe in us when we cease to believe in ourselves, share our joys and sorrows and understand all our stupid little things in life. They are the people with who you can have the longest ocnversation and still have so much more to say; and the same people with who we can have hours of silence but still felt completely understood.
For me this is a relation which I cannot understand and at the same time perfectly understand! But all friends do not last forever, there are relations that we maintain for a long time and continue to maintain without breaks. But there also a few great friendships that fade over time, even though we want them to last. I do not know the reason for this maybe distance, maybe priorities in life, maybe time........ I really do not know. But I do know that it hurts, when someone with who you hav shared some beautiful moments in life, someone who understood you so well and more importantly when you thought that is a relation for keeps.
This is for all my friends....the ones who have stayed back, the ones who have moved on and to the ones who have stayed back and yet moved on......

Brick Lane - Strictly my viewpoint

I recently finished reading Brick Lane girl, by Monica Ali. The book is about a young Muslim girl Nazneen, from Bangladesh who gets married (at the age of 18) to an older man (around 36) and moves to London. Its a completely new life for her there and a new set of challenges and trials to face. Its a story about her acceptance of her fate, coming to terms with her life, the circumstances that lead her to change the way she is and for the first time make her stand up and take a decision for herself.
I felt that the book was a little slow paced and could not really capture my interest. For most part of the book Nazneen is the main protagonist but in the background and the shadow of the other characters (her husband, children, the doctor and the other ladies). I did not find any of the other characters interesting (maybe her sister a little bit) nor intriguing.
But Nazneen's character was quite interesting, she comes across as an intelligent observer. She is someone who remains in the background, lets people do most of the talking (whether its her husband on his literary trip or Mrs Islam crying on her never-ending illness). She reflects most of her intelligence in her observations of people and understanding/analysis of their behaviour and character. Its quite amazing how she never really complains about her life and husband to anyone. She just accepts everything.
But as you accept this quite docile creature and assume that her life would go on like this till the end.....in comes a sewing machine (!!!!) and of course the life changing Karim. This is when you realise Nazneen's strength as a woman, as the one who can take up charge of the house, earn a living for her household if the need be. You realise she has been quiet not due to lack of talent or the ability but just because that was the need of the hour probably. Finally she realises her dream, what her life is all about and what she and her children really need. The end is a bit surprising, but not at all disappointing (at least for me).
All in all, a decent read. Not very highly recommended but yes you can read it. The book has a lot more to offer in terms of the life of the Bangladeshis and their issues in London and also about religion. There is also a parallel story of her sister Hasina (through the letters she writes) and her mother. But what spoke to me most in the book is what I have written about.

Marriages.....cause for changes?

Marriages translate into a lot of changes (from what I have personally experienced and observed). You share your life with someone and with that come a lot of lifestyle changes. As if your own relatives are not enough, you get tagged with so many more others. God only knows how will be ever able to remember all of them :).

But these changes are something which come gradually and are very much acceptable. These are the kind of compromised and adjustments that happen with friends and roomies also. And they happen from both sides, so its ok.

The kind of change that bothers me a lot, is the drastic change that one partner goes through while the other just refuses to be a part of it. If you have watched SATC, I am talking about what Charlotte did. She was ready to give up her beliefs and her complete religion to convert and be with the man she loved. He refused to marry any girl unless she was a Jew, so Charlotte goes through all the pain of changing herself. I also remember a conversation in office about a colleagues cousin and his fiancee, where the fiancee was ready to have a Christian wedding but the groom refused to even come if there was a Hindu ceremony. And the lady was still ok to go ahead with the marriage and spend her life with that man.

The point being, while I understand that in love you make a lot of compromises,adjustments, etc etc; but changing your whole value system, beliefs, religion and everything you have grown up to be! Especially when the other person does not reciprocate the same (yes we are humans and give&take works everywhere and with everyone), is it really something that will last long? And does this whole change that you go through represent strength of character or weakness of your character?? For me its a very very easy foundatoin for any fight....I did this for you what did you do....

And giving up so much might be easy for sometime, but what about the long run. How do you go about bringing about your children and what do you teach them? Your old beliefs, new beliefs, someone else's beliefs.....

Do you have any answers..........

This one is for you guys.....

We were all of 18 (or maybe +/- 1), full of energy, youth and energy. There was the fear of the unknown but at the same time the there was the willingness to explore unchartered territories and take life full on!!
Most of us were out-of-home for the first time and naturally and extremely homesick. Some of us were very brave and some of us broke down very easily. We looked out around at everyone trying ot find the one person or persons whose kind face would probably bring us some relief or show some signs of empathy. Getting used to the seniors, the hostel food, the queues for the baths, etc was pretty new and harrowing. Every phone call from home was eagerly awaited, and every minute spent on it was probably the best part of the day.
Time passed by and we got accustomed to this new life. From the time when going home was a source of endless joy and coming back a not so nice experience, we reached a point when both journeys were looked forward to by the same enthu. We reached a stage when we missed each other when we went home and looked forward to receiveing letters (yes we used snail mail during that time!) and phone calls. In fact I still have those letters, and boy do I treasure them.
We became best friends, inseparable groups, who shared all their highs and lows of life, all our crushes and loves and hates, our dreams and nightmares. We knew each other inside out and we could not ever imagine knowing anyone any better.
We had changed...from the girls who cried when they first came to hostels to the girls who cried their hearts out when it was time to leave. Life without each other was not something that we had been prepared for. College taught us a lot of things, but not the pain of separation. Who could imagine life without midnight maggis, gossip sessions, dinners and lnches, midnight birthdays shopping, cooking, laughing together, crying, taking care, being taken care of.........and so many other things!!
We all came to college hoping for a good career and a successful life thereafter. Little did we know that whether or not we got that; we would definitely find a set of lifelong friends, who would stand by us forever. College taught us the value of friendship and the true meaning of being a friend!
Thank you SVR. And thank you very much all of you.....I do not know if I miss you more or love you more..!!!!!

Elections 2009

Elections, campaigning, EVMs, debates, parties, voting are the buzzwords of the day. The Indian Elections are back and how....

I am sure no other country has her emotions running so very high during election season. Fights are in the air so is mud-slinging, accusations and big promises. Will this elections bring about any change....well we can just vote, wait and watch.

I have been observing the whole hoopla going around -brought to us by the media. The only thing I heard all around is every politician (big or small, young or old, brand new or ancient) pulling every other politician down. Someone says 1984, the other comes back with 2002; some say anti-muslim some say communalism and the list goes on. Each one appeals for votes on basis of caste, religion or the likes. Even all the debates happening on TV, are around riots, terrorism, etc etc.

What I did not notice was any party talk about their concrete plans for development. Never heard any arm of the media trying to analyse a party's manifesto or trying to get the parties to talk about their plans for the country. No one presented any stats on the success or failure of any of the previous governments. This surprised me to quite an extent that none of the leaders wanted to discuss around things that really mattered, but rather concentrated on showing how the other party was undeserving.

When I had this discussion with Vikram, he just said one thing. Think why no one is talking about development or things that matter but about all the other things. Because that is what is getting them their votes. People are voting based on caste, religion and loyalties rather than voting for someone who can actually make a difference..........

That is something which I think is very true.........and does not really make me pleased.

Think about it too......isn't it time we voted for a change????

Long time no see....

Well....the title is for me. I have been away from blogs,facebook,orkut,general surfing...I guess you get the idea. I was away from my social networking world.
Health reasons kept me away, though I am much better now still trying not to strian myself.

Lots seems to have happened since I have been away. For one Pande seems to have updated her blog quite a bit, and with a lot of thought provoking ones. Well she has always been my thinker, philiospher and guide (for a long time now)! And even though I am not like her, I tend to agree a lot with her. :)

Election is in the air, with all the news channels, newspapers basically all media is obssessed. There only seem to be news about who abused who, who made a hate speech, who has how much black money (or i think assets or watever). Strangely do not hear much about who is going to help the country grow....hmm thats a thought!

The IPL is coming back, watched it the last season, hope to do the same this time. Roadies is coming to an end, Splitsvilla is getting boring this time.

Work is getting interesting and a little busy these days. But I'm loving it :)

And yes everyone seems to be getting pregnant.....its in the air or is it ;)

With that note and a complete set of random thoughts I close this blog. Hoping to be more regular now (as always)!