Along the way

Recently, I completed reading the 3rd book of Ashwin sanghi - Krishna Key. The book was brilliant. Lot of research was being done by the author around the Krishna-Dwaraka-Shiva. But at some corner of my mind, I felt that it didn't match the brilliance of his earlier book - Chanakya's Chant. The way he had structured that story, creating the fictional version of Chanakya's story which ran parallel with a contemporary story set against the current affairs in politics, the charm was missing in his latest offering. I thought I might have not concentrated properly while reading it (there were just too many proofs for various beliefs related to mythology) and hence I felt so. But when I browsed the net, I got to know that many shared the same opinion as mine.

That made me to think about myself. I was introduced to the Writing-hobby when the Newsletter team in the project in which I was working in my 1st company invited articles or other contributions from the project people. I just wanted to give it a try and submitted a imaginary story which if you ask me even now, I feel there was nothing special in it. Well the rest was history and I think I have discussed already about this in another post. I was a hero overnight and this overwhelming reaction made me to take up blogging where I made a promise of writing regularly, just to break that promise later.

None of my contributions to the newsletter received any special reaction after the stupendous debut I had. People started stacking it up in their To-do list of the day, since they knew that there would be something in the article but definitely not "That something" so as to give it first priority in the day. No, I'm not saying that I felt let down or that I stopped blogging. None of them happened (well, blogging went on to become more and more less frequent). But I wanted to pour it out from my heart here and tell to myself that it is really so hard to be a writer, to win people's satisfaction, to churn out that-really-interesting-story regularly, to deliver something fresh and new each time. And when I see this feat being achieved by so many authors out there, I feel so great about them. I just sit and admire about their creative abilities after finishing the last page of that book written by them.

For a writer to get new ideas, he has to be in touch with people. People from different walks of life. The more we converse with people, the more broader our ideas get. The more fodder for our brain. Recently, I  felt that I wanted to be in a profession where I could meet lot of people on daily basis - a doctor, a Public servant etc. MY friend who was working with Marketing division of a very famous MNC used to share stories about the people who he used to meet from Govt dept. owing to his sales responsibility. There are other friends who being doctors, have to meet so many people, whether they like it or not. "The toughest assignment while doing M.S is when you are posted to govt hospitals. So many people die daily just because they cannot afford the treatment cost in pvt hospitals, where we ask them to move the patients due to non availability of facilities in the govt hosp".  I asked him how it felt. "Initially there was lot of agitation inside... the urge to hit someone, shout at someone..... do something... something to save them...... but gradually we started to admit that we are helpless..... " A pause and then we force the smiles on our face and switch the topic.

My mom is an ardent fan of Sudha Murthy (not sure if I have made a mention of this in my earlier blogs). She just loves them for one reason - practicality. No other novels are so close to reality - she tells me. There is a reason for that. Being part of the Infosys Foundation (charity trust), she has met Millions of people, both good and other side of good. And her books are nothing but the reflections of her experience with them. My personal favourites are - Mahashwetha (I just love it. Had tears in my eyes at several junctions while reading it), Gently falls Bakula.

To put it more broadly, meeting people will give inputs - inputs turn to idea. IF you are not a writer, the idea can be learning lesson. There you are. This is nothing but the basic theorem of life. Meet people, watch good movies & TV programs, read books - everything that gives input for us to handle the different challenges that the life throws at us. "If you don't do now itself what you want to do , you will repent after 20 years about it..." My friend told one day while having lunch in my favourite Fish restaurant one day. I was discussing with her my desire to learn how to ride a geared bike and to own one. But my parents were totally against it. Apart from the desire to learn it, I wanted to switch over to a geared bike from activa to save on my monthly fuel bill. "I think you have to go for it... millions of people ride bike.... if you think you can ride it safely and have self control, what is stopping you? " My friend concluded. There I was, being firm on my decision to buy a good economical and "Safe" bike, I conveyed it to my parents. Though there was a slight reluctance, my mom agreed looking at my confidence and not without giving a disk full of safety instructions.

There is definitely lot to discuss... But I don't want to bottle up whatever I've written so far and work on it later and make it a lengthy and boring to read. Instead I will divide it and would make it interesting to read. If my decision doesn't change, I will come back with part2 of this.....