The story of the storytellers - 2

(The first part of 'The story of the storytellers' can be found here)

Please welcome this week's writer : Baba Vaniteshwar from Saucy Jane 

" I'm the cat's meow,the bees's knees,the dog's whiskers. "

Your favourite hobbies aside from writing? How do you unwind?
 I paint, or just mess about with paint. Also, lately photography has put a spell on me.

Do you believe we need inspiration to write? Is your writing planned or spontaneous? Do you take out time regularly for writing?
 My writing is mostly spontaneous. Sometimes I'm watching a movie or just doing something random thing and BANG! An idea hits me.
Though sometimes, people or things do give me some inspiration.
Nah, I don't take time out for writing. Somehow I can't force myself to write anything. It comes to me.

Now that you're a better writer (I'm sure you are!), what advice would you have given to your past self if you could?
 I still have a long way to go as a writer but if I could advice my past-self I'd say-You're not writing for anyone else but yourself. Don't be afraid to let the ink flow.

Do you prefer any particular genre or do you just freestyle in your writing?
 I freestyle. Though, I avoid romance & philosophy.

The best thing about being a writer?
 This might take a while =)
         When you start writing, you get transported into a world which is wholly yours.

Your milestones and favourite moments as a writer? Any you're proud of?
 Ah, when I was in the fifth grade, my English teacher read my fiction post and was amazed. She told me I would go a long way if I would improve on my writing. I did. 
One favourite moment was when my essay was published in The Young World. It was then I knew I simply have to be a journalist.

And the age old classic, any advice for aspiring writers? 
 The same thing I would have told my past-self-let the ink flow.

The nicest compliment you've ever received for your writing or the way you write?

      That I create magic with words. ^_^

What question would you ask your favourite writer(s)?
 When is the next book coming out?

What are your thoughts on writer's block? If you've ever had it, how did you get through it?
 Writer's block. My life long nemesis.
To get over it, I just write. Even if it is random senseless ramblings, I just write.

What are your plans for and where do you see yourself in the near future?
 It changes everyday. One day I want to become a journalist, the next day I want to become a world famous artist.

Any author or personality, dead or alive, you would like to meet or work with? Any recent favourite book?
 I would LOVE to work with J.R.R.Tolkien.
         Recent favourite book-The city of Djinns & Palace of illusions.

What words would you use to describe yourself as a writer or a person?
 Eclectic, different, a wandering soul.

 If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be?
 A Comedy Of Errors.

How much of your writing is inspired from real life?
 Pretty much most of it is drawn from my own experiences and feelings.
 

Anything you would like to change or improve in yourself as a writer, blogger or person? 
 I wish I were more free in putting what's in my mind on paper.

Any other question that you wish I'd asked? What would be the answer? 
 You pretty much hit the nail on the head :)

Anything small or big that has frustrated you recently?
 My inexcusably bad performance in the recent exams.

What's one of your biggest dreams? 
 To have people come up to me and say “ I love your book! Would you please sign my copy? It's for my daughter. She wants to be like you one day”. [ I'm an egomaniac, sue me] :D

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Share your thoughts please!

Birds - we've grown up with them!

Most of you might not remember that almost a year ago I started a series called Saving the earth. In it I suggested that we all do something to help the environment based on our inclinations and limitations. Recently I discovered an initiative on the net which I hope most of us would take part in.

You'll find the homepage of the Citizen  Sparrow Initiative here. The project is run by the Bombay Natural History Society, together with a group of organisations interested in nature, birds and conservation from all across the country. Here is the introduction on their website:



House Sparrows -- who can resist these chirpy, cheerful and charming birds? 

Sparrows are found all over the world, almost everywhere that humans live. But strangely, sparrow populations have been in decline in many parts of the world, for reasons that are still unclear, although hotly debated! In India, sparrows used to be found in great abundance in all our cities, towns and villages; but sadly not any more. 

Where are sparrows still found in India? Where were they found before? In which places have they declined the most? 

The answers to these questions are crucial if we are to discover what ails them, and how to bring them back. 

You can help!

By spending 5 minutes documenting the presence or absence of sparrows in localities you know well, both at present and at any time in the past, you will join enthusiasts all over the country in helping sparrows. 

You will be asked a brief set of questions, including the precise location of areas you know (or knew) well, aspects of the habitat in these localities, sparrow presence or absence in these localities, and optional information about things like locations of nests, amount of green space, and so on. The questionnaire is very simple to fill, and there is also space for you to share your favourite sparrow stories! 

I can vouch for the fact that it takes very little time to create an account and contribute your observations and stories. 

This is a link to their FAQ page => http://www.citizensparrow.in/index.php?r=site/page&view=about

This is their 'How-to' page which has all the instructions => http://www.citizensparrow.in/index.php?r=site/page&view=howto

You'll find a full map of people's observations here=> http://www.citizensparrow.in/index.php?r=record/all

People's stories about sparrow are here => http://www.citizensparrow.in/index.php?r=record/stories

The campaign has been extended till the 15th of June. Please, please take out some time if you can to look up this initiative and contribute something to it. Help in saving the innocent little bird that we have all grown up adoring before they vanish altogether!  

Image Credit: http://indiasendangered.com/world-house-sparrow-day-today/

Update: Just came across an article in the Hindustan Times, June 5. The Nature Forever Society is launching a campaign called 'Bird of the Month' to raise awareness about 18 common bird species found across India.  It seems very much on the lines of the Citizen Sparrow initiative, except that there are more birds, like mynah and pigeon that are being observed. If you're interested in being a part of their 'Common Bird Monitoring of India' program, you can check out their very cool site at www.cbmi.in

The story of the storytellers

Think back to the time you read something great - a poem, a story, an article, anything. How did it feel?

When I read something great, I feel sad when I reach the end. Sure, I'm happy with a good ending, but I do feel rather bad that the journey is over. And I always wonder, "Wow! How did that he/she think this up? Why didn't I think of writing something like that? Oh, I wish I could see more of something like this! ". Then I spend the couple of days in a kind of daze, remembering all the characters and dialogues :D

I don't want to analyse a writer's use of language. It's up to me to develop my skills in those areas. But I really do want to know more about them as people. What can I learn about them that will help me grow, as a writer and a person?

So, months go, I decided to go direct. I decided to interview some of my favorite bloggers. I sent out emails to them. I sent a long list of questions and asked them to answer as many as they wished.

And now, enough of the exams and results, here is the first 'interview'


*Drumroll* Please welcome, Vanessa Rowe from Writing Revived

"Digging around about Life's situations and events... exploring experiences... with a dash of philosophy thrown in, in addition to thoughts on relationships one comes across in Life"

Your favourite hobbies aside from writing? How do you unwind?

Singing, humming my favourite tunes, whistling or just playing pranks on my loved ones. Oh, add reading novels and being a couch potato to that list too.


Do you believe we need inspiration to write? Is your writing planned or spontaneous? Do you take out time regularly for writing?

Inspiration – We are all inspired unconsciously. We read something, or watch a show, or discuss ideas – and in all this relay of communication some thought strikes us and we write it down – so we are inspired directly or indirectly.
Till now, my writing has mostly bordered on the spontaneous side, unless you count submitting articles for school/college magazines – which then had a deadline, word limit and genre limitation. And since I write spontaneously, I don’t take out time for writing unless I’m extremely bored and bogged-to-death with monotony.


Do you think you've grown as a person in your writing journey? How?

More than ‘grown’, I feel that I’ve ‘changed’ as a person. I started out as a motivational-philosophical writer, but after a year I started experimenting with my style – I entered blog contests, poetry sessions, I read different styles of writing and imitated some of them – I guess I wanted to see how varied I could be with my writing.


Any writer or person who you think has influenced your own style of expressing yourself when it was coming up?

Haahaa, didn’t think that such a question would come up… Hadn’t ever thought of this before – I guess, Khalil Gibran and Paulo Coelho – they made a tremendous impact on me when I first read their works and you can see some of their ‘style’ reflected in my early posts. It’s not an accurate style of theirs, but a part of my individuality mixed with theirs.


Now that you're a better writer (I'm sure you are!), what advice would you have given to your past self if you could?

I have always been a backward learner – my past self always does things better than my present self, but then my present self will one day be my past self… but I am meandering, sorry. On reflecting for quite some time, I now see that my past self did have a chink missing and I would tell her (my past self) to “go ahead with experimentation in writing but retain the individual style that belongs only to us/me. Always preserve the initial passion and soul that you first began with.”


Do you prefer any particular genre or do you just freestyle in your writing?

Hmm… again, I started out with a motivational/philosophical/self-help genre, but of late I’ve been exploring the music/books/critic/causes genres. Now and then, I venture into my old phase of self-improvement topics. It’s fun being diverse!


The best thing about being a writer?
The best thing, about being a writer, for me, would be my ability to express clearly those views which I am unable to express verbally.


Your milestones and favourite moments as a writer? Any you're proud of?
Well, the highlights of being a writer is that various websites, online writers groups and online magazines request me to write articles with them. The best was when I was invited to be a Guest Columnist with The Viewspaper – it is an online news website for the Youth and it has been nice writing for them. (Plus, one of my dreams was to be a columnist – I didn’t imagine I would become one so fast!)


And the age old classic, any advice for aspiring writers?
Aah, I have been waiting for such a question :D
Hello all you aspiring writers, let’s start you off: 

One - Stop being an ‘aspiring writer’ and just be ‘A Writer’.

Two – ‘Write whatever you feel like.’ (I seriously mean it, hang all the rules).

Three – ‘Write whenever you feel like.’ (This is very important – don’t write just for the sake of writing)

Four – Enjoy life, put your talents to good use and follow your passions! (Yeah, it’s a 3-in-1 point :D)


The nicest compliment you've ever received for your writing or the way you write?

Ohh, I really can’t pick any… Being a writer/blogger I understand how much time, attention and thought goes into visiting a blog, reading the posts and commenting - and that’s the nicest compliment of all!


What question would you ask your favourite writer(s)?
Oh, this is a good question! I would probably ask my favourite writer the following questions:

How do you maintain your writing style?

Will you be betraying yourself if you get influenced by someone else’s style of writing?

NOTE: I don’t normally plan such things, so on the spot I’ll just pop up with some more questions for them J


Have you ever mentored or encouraged an aspiring writer? If yes, what was it like? If not, would you like to?
I have mentored a few of my friends – not in the exact ‘sense’ of ‘mentored’, but I did give them the occasional push, nudge and motivation to write and create a blog! It requires quite a sustained effort on the ‘motivator’s’ end to get the individuals to write, and this continues when the individuals start neglecting their blogs due to work/college/health issues/family issues/boredom. But, I don’t push them too much if they don’t feel like it – they will write whenever they feel like – even if that may be after 2 years. NOTE: If anyone needs a push/nudge/motivation to start writing you now know who to contact J

What are your thoughts on writer's block? If you've ever had it, how did you get through it?
Aaaarghhhh… the dreaded writer’s block – it has assaulted me innumerable times as has been apparent on my blog – whenever you see a gap of 3-4 weeks, you can be assured it is this monster that stalked me that month. Jokes aside, the first time I had writer’s block was, believe it or not, in an examination hall. There I was, ink pen in hand, answer sheet before me, hand clutching my head while my mind remained vacant as I tried to pen down something on ‘Global Warming and its effects’. I know, easy topic, but blank mind at the time! Thankfully, over the years I have learnt some secrets to overcome this mental agony – Shut off! Chill out, stop worrying about it, unless your boss is breathing over your head, or your submission time is up – in that case, do a few mental tricks, like practice your maths times-table (you know, 2*2=4, 5*2=11, ooops sorry, 10), recall a favourite song/movie/dialogue/quote – and bingo! Something will strike and you’ll be able to defeat that ugly writer’s block!

What are your plans for and where do you see yourself in the near future?
I don’t look too much into the future, and I never plan too much – I go with the flow of life, and my life has always taken me to places that are pretty interesting! My life has always given me what I’ve needed without me asking for them. So, I’m sure that I’ll be in an interesting place in the near future J

Any author or personality, dead or alive, you would like to meet or work with? Any recent favourite book?
Oh yes, yes, yes!! Ruskin Bond ! I am longing to meet him and talk with him… In fact, I’m planning a trip this year to his town just to see him! I hope it works out! Anyone one want to join?


What words would you use to describe yourself as a writer or a person?
Oh my! Really!?! Oh-kay… As a writer, I would say that I’m experimental, spontaneous and easy-to-read (as in, you don’t have to rush for a dictionary while reading my pieces).
As a person – Loyal (I’m doggedly loyal to anything that is close to my heart).


What have you learned about life as a writer or as a person?
Ooooh, a philosophical question! Just my type J I’m still in the process of learning about life, but what I do know till now is that Life is Life – Life may keep you alive and Life may make you die, but in the end, we all can’t do without it, no matter how much we may curse it from time to time. I love my life – in the good and after the bad is over :D (okay, that was just a joke), but I do love life in it’s entirety.


If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be?

My Best Friend – Life!


A favourite memory that still gives you a warm glow inside?
My ever favourite memory is when a reader actually composed a song using my poem for the lyrics! He took the effort to compose a tune, sing and record the whole song – and then presented it to me! Regardless to say, I was speechless! J


What's one of your biggest dreams?
Ahh, I don’t really have any BIG dreams as such. I have little, small and cute dreams which I hope to reach. But my one favourite dream is to form a Nursery School on a hill-station after I retire. I would love to teach children!



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What do you think? Next interview up after a week!

Beginning again

Words and feelings that would pour out into the conscious world have retreated, scared away by the interruptions, rituals and expectations of the man made system (exams!). The page glances at me coolly and says, "I have no expectations from you. I give you no help. Whatever you have ever done was by you yourself." My pen sees me with reproach. It is full of resentment at my neglect. It questions my optimism. 
But all I can think is , "Old feelings can be revived and new words can be practiced. It is only ever the heart, not the pen, which runs dry ".



Restarting writing was harder than I thought. Darn! I'd hoped to make my comeback with a nice piece of writing. But I'm fed up of waiting for inspiration to strike or the 'mood' to hit. I'll just hope that the quote " Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking" is right.

Nothing particularly exciting from my end. I've spent time returning to one of my favorite hobbies: reading novels! And I got a great start when a friend lent me "Palace of Illusions". I've also spent some time messing around with my new phone: A blackberry 9860.

School is now over of course and my batch is waiting for the results of board exams. And that's not to mention the preparation we're all putting into entrance tests for Law, management, mass comm., hotel management, english and more from many different universities. To all student who are working hard right now, I say "salaam!" It takes some strength of mind to move straight from board exams - the time we were all looking forward to - to entrance exams, which feel even more tough!

Can't think of anything creative or witty for now. But I'll be back soon! I distinctly remember that in February, I was trying to convince myself that there is a life beyond board exams ;)

Image source: http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/Shadow-of-memory/900552/

Candid confessions of a board exam student

To anyone looking for a pick-me-up post, this might not be it.

Let's get one fact straight. My board exams are on till the 16th of April.

Every conversation I've had for the last month has started with the question, "So, when are the exams finishing?" Then the conversation ends with "Oh, you poor thing!" Sadly, repeatedly discussing a fact doesn't change it :(

When I received my board datesheet about a month before they started, I was happy. So much time to prepare for every difficult subject. What more could one ask for?

But as the days came and went, the motivation slipped. The thrill of giving the last exam of my school life petered out. The tension, the wish that everything would go well faded. The first few exams, I was nervous. But by now, there is more of complacency. In fact, I'm ashamed to admit that in these holidays, I've probably spent more time in front of the TV and my computer than in front of my books. I studied next to nothing before my Maths exam and it only had 2 days of holidays. Normally, the adrenaline would kick in and I'd work furiously hard, but this time - nothing.

Now, I'm not a stranger to the the "I don't feel like studying" feeling. My friends almost expect a call from me before the exam, complaining to them that I don't feel like studying. Over the years, I've developed a number of tricks to get myself to snap out of it. Visits to the park, telephone conversations with friends and relatives, asking doubts from my teachers, sleeping(!), listening to songs I haven't heard for a long time,putting up motivational posters etc.etc. Only this time, they all seem to be failing. Not one method is bringing back that spark of determination which would carry me through the exams. Even in these days I'm procrastinating for studying on my Geography exam. This is probably my last attempt - a write up on my blog.

The following two pieces were written by me on a small notepad during my holidays. They are just emotional outbursts, condensed. This is one of the ways in which I try to psyche myself by getting into my deepest thoughts by writing.

What is wrong with me?

Sometime before my Economics exam:

A sense of personal failure
Giving up on the result. I don't care how much I score because I don't like you (the exams). You're wrong and that should lead to my failing. It's not that I lack persistence, but I feel frustrated by your system. Well, I refuse to cooperate and become a part of your system. I know - it's a silent revolt. But I don't feel like taking it lying down. I don't like feeling helpless. I don't need to do this to prove I'm tough. I have my memories. Worse, I'm not the only one suffering, there are others. I'll feel motivated to work for the greater good of society, not my greater good.



A short while ago, before my Geography exam:

It's as if I'm deliberately failing myself. What is wrong with me? Why am I letting others admire my competitor? Why have my emotions cooled? Why have I died inside? Drive, will, looking forward...some of my best qualities. Where have I let them go? Am I determined to fail on everyone? Am I determined to prove to everyone, including myself, that I'm a loser, not a winner? Why have I let this go? I have not given up on the goal. Some part of me still believes it is worthwhile. But I've given up on myself. Unrealistic expectations of 10 hours everyday! There could be no worse time for ambition to die. What happened to want, to thirst, to desire? Not revenge, but the fierce, overwhelming joy of success? Have I forgotten that treasure? Have my senses been dulled so much that they are passive to my self destruction? Why are my cares only superficial? why is there no dream to give me enough happiness for hope,  challenge for courage and faith to push beyond fear? I will not win by ignoring this challenge.





I thought (not realized) that, ironically, the only ones to be harmed by my "revolt" were me and the ones who cared about me. When high goals stop motivating, it's time to talk to yourself. And I know that lazing around now will cause me months of regret later. Especially if I give up without trying.

I hope I'm getting somewhere...

P.S. If any of my blog friends are interested, my birthday went by some time back too. I have been officially 18 for a while now :)


P.P.S. I miss debating, people. I miss being on stage.


Image 1 source: this blog
Image 2 source: this site