Wonderful Wednesdays !!

Flying on a broom with a rolling pin/belan/cricket bat , raised high, has its pros and cons, I suppose. Besides exercising my triceps in my old age, its a nice place from where to get a 'bai' eye-view of the bai-gone years.

I've always been told I talk too much.

Sometimes indulgently. Sometimes with a laugh. Sometimes with a resigned look. And frequently with a sheer look of undisguised disgust. :-)

And so in the summer of 2006, one took to blogging. Taking inspiration from someone in the family's generation-next, who already did so, on "serious" subjects like cricket, its silly points, deep fine legs, and other weird names.

The nice part was one could "talk" as much as one liked. Write on whatever one wanted. In any form of English. Prose or verse. Even art.

And those who said mean things to you, could be, theoretically deleted. Disagreements , OK. Abuse, No.

Luckily I have not had to deal with any negativity on the blog. Ever. Possibly due to the very middle-of-the-road paths followed while I traipsed through the various potholed roads of Life.

Having reached the magical peak of 60 years ,gives me a new perspective of the old days. So many things I took for granted, now appear special, in their archived state. And I love to write about them. And my forays into the modern world. With an old world attitude. Kamala Bai meets Britney Spears.

So it was with a sense of shock that I saw my blog nominated in the Best Humanities Indiblog category a few weeks ago. Those nominated along with me were some great names I have admired. Some for their brilliance, some for their empathy, some for the rigour, some for their analytic skills, some for their immense versatility, and some for their heartfelt attitude....


Imagine burrowing through a crowd , lugging your sling bag and vada-pav, straight into the first row, straightening up a hurting back, and finding yourself looking at captains of industry, divas of fashion, and various Excellencies and Honors. And no police lathis to chase you away.

The thrill blinds you. You close your eyes and wait.

I did. And when I opened them yesterday night, I had a message from someone in Boise, Idaho congratulating me on a win in my category ! (They had themselves won in one category, and were like runners-up in others).

One duly rushed over to Indibloggies to confirm.

Gappa was the winner in the Best Humanities Indiblog category.

You know, Gappa means Gupshup, or Random Chitchat. There is a lot of virtual ribbing, backslapping, winking, nodding. Sometimes even serious faces. Sometimes we even meet in real life, and then report virtually.

Its been wonderful. And fun. I have made tons of friends. Of all ages. From 25 to 85. Across the world. Shared in their good times and bad. They have encouraged me to write verse and draw, all in the blogosphere.

Like I said, I've always been told I talk too much.

I have yet to hear someone say I write too much.

And as for the aforementioned looks of undisguised disgust, there is that little key with D.

Thank you for voting and this wonderful news.....