Friday, January 05, 2007

This blog winds up...

When I first started this blog, I had little clue as to what blogging was; I had read a few, Uma, Shoefiend, Charu…and ofcourse, fancying myself as some sort of writer, I saw no reason why I couldn’t have one too. I had no concept of visitor count, page views, comments etc etc. It just seemed like a fun thing to do. With the added advantage of being able to put together a lot of my writing in one place.

Down the line, I realized that the blogging universe carried its own hierarchies… There were blog stars who counted up visitors by the thousand, wannabees who struggled to get there, and many, many small, baby-blogs like mine that appealed to a handful of readers. And ofcourse to their creators. To that extent, I am happy that I entered this universe, even though I may be one of the tiniest stars on the outer reaches of this ever expanding cosmos.

In the last seven months, however, increasingly I feel that the quality as well as quantity of my blogging is deteriorating. I think of myself as a writer of tales, and this blog as a vehicle for those. Slowly however, the vehicle is becoming more prominent, as I find less and less time for the writing, due to an increasingly stressful job. When I found myself ‘needing’ to write, so that I could update the blog, I knew that its time to shut it down.

Maybe not permanently. When life becomes easier again, maybe I will reappear, if not here, perhaps in a new avatar elsewhere ! (Do black holes ever reinvent themselves? I don’t know).

In the meanwhile, since it is a new year, I’d like to leave with a list of some authors and titles that I have planned to read this year, and it may appeal to some of you too!

Marjane Satrapi
More work by Kenzaburo Oe
(I've only read A Personal Matter, which I liked very much, for its honesty in dealing with such a difficult subject - but I hear its very different from his other work)
Ambai’s The Purple Sea
Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games
Haruki Murakami’s Underground
Kiran Nagarkar’s God’s Little Soldier
Tanizaki Junichiro’s The Makioka Sisters
Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Teheran
Tash Aw’s The Harmony Silk Factory
Naguib Mahfouz’ Cairo Trilogy

I want to read all these, and the many, many surprises which I hope 2007 will bring my way. Isn’t that one of the best things ever, to be presented with a lovely book, and surprised by how it speaks to you. I wish this surprise and delight for all those of you who’ve been reading this blog, and given me so much encouragement with your comments and mails.

For those who would like to know when I am back, do mention it here, or drop me a mail at mailto:aputhebird@yahoo.com

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

7 comments:

The ramblings of a shoe fiend said...

I hope this is nothing more than a short break. Do keep sharing your stories though. All the best and keep in touch. Hugs!

ps. am dipping in to In a forest a Deer by Ambai. Her stories speak to me in a way no other writer has. (Other than Anita Desai perhaps). Enjoy Purple Sea

Srihari said...

Hmmm....Happy New Year!

Itchingtowrite said...

be in touch

Anonymous said...

HNY 2k7! ...and be back soon.

Anonymous said...

I love your blog. Glad to be in touch with you again. I recently found a poem that you had written for me when we were at Mounts. I should fish it out, when I get to Bangalore next.

I have always enjoyed reading your writing, and I do hope this is a short hiatus.

Anonymous said...

i guess most bloggers go through these ... and when they do, some write ... 'What to write' ... 'Something or Nothing' and stuff like that. a good way to come over this is to take a break, not to publish anything ... and then, come back, when you are interested. after all this blog is a small reflection of you, and you wouldnt want to close that down ... would you?

Kay said...

Hey there,I just started blogging and happened to pass by this.U just described how I feel in ur post.Nice blog,hope u come back.