Blogger Nostalgia!

Whenever I get back to this happy place of mine, I feel so elated. Typing away what comes to mind without any reservations as to who is going to judge me, makes me come back to this space of mine every once in a while. I find most bloggers whom I have been following have stopped blogging since a long time. I have been back to this after almost a year.

I invariably realize the fact that there aren't any readers for this blog as such. But this private space that I have created for myself in this world wide network is something that excites me like a child who has done something on his/her own for the first time.

The old posts of mine let me look at myself as a person who has evolved from what she was to what she is now. Those posts remind me of the different stages and places that I have been through in my life. Retrospection has always given me a better understanding of human behaviors in various circumstances. The woman in me at times turns out to be sober, sensible and level-headed. Yet, at times the child and the adolescent me pops out and I look at the sheepish me. Of all the things that I have learned and observed in these three decades of my life, what gives me lucidity is my introspective nature. I look into myself quite often, have conversations with myself and keep questioning my motives and actions. And when I am at a juncture to decide which path to take, I find myself reassured to take the path that is often righteous and rock-steady. The light that guides me is within me and I make sure I am in touch with this sunshine every now and then.

Technology has been so pervasive and its effects have trapped me into spending more of my time on gadgets than on more productive things like reading and writing. Well, I do enjoy penning down on a book, probably the ease of preserving the writings online by blogging seems more efficacious. Everything is in one place and I don't have to worry about searching or storing it. Also, the fun of reading the older writings by just a few clicks is rewarding.

I realize this post is about my blogging interests and passion to keep this going no matter what. I hope to religiously pen down at least a few random thoughts that knock my mind and  keep myself sane amidst this rat race that has no specific finishing line. 

What's in a name?

Someone happened to ask me why I chose to title my blog as "Starry Nights". So I felt I should share my thoughts that I had when I created my blog way back in 2010. I have mentioned in many of my posts that I am a nature-lover. The different sights of nature has always left me wondering how insignificant we are in the true realm of the universe which is so vast and intriguing. 

I remember a few occasions of my childhood that I spent in the hot and humid Pondicherry. I have a lot of lovely memories attached to that place. One such memory that is fondly etched in my mind is the time we used to spend in the terrace of our home gazing the night sky. We would spread the durrie and lie down sky gazing. Sometimes Dad would try hard to show me the falling asteroids but I would never sight them. So, right from my childhood I had a fascination for the Starry Nights. Hence, the title!

I was also asked why I had chosen twinklingeyes for blogspot.in link. Well, some of them found it to be soppy and mushy. The truth being, I just wanted my name to feature in the URL of my blog link and when I tried putting my name in different combinations, most of it was already taken - thanks to the common English word "twinkle". By choosing twinklingeyes, I just meant a perspective about life through my eyes. Surprisingly, a friend mentioned that I had her clean-bowled with the choice of twinklingeyes for my blogspot, i.e, to quote her exact words. Now, I feel I should have gone for a more serious, pedantic name! ;)

The Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh (Courtesy - Wikipedia)

I also happened to find this very famous painting by Vincent van Gogh titled  The Starry Night. Indian author and columnist Shobhaa De has written a novel titled Starry Nights. I got to know about the novel when I googled Starry Nights. I was unaware of this when I started my blog. Hope no one sues me! Strictly coincidental!

P.S: The title for this blog post owes its credit to the one and only William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".

Random thoughts...

I just thought of my blog and felt compelled to visit it. And when I visited it, I thought I should post something.

I read a few blogs... very few blogs and I am particularly fond of reading a blog by one Ms. Dhanya (My Own Little World). She is a very good writer. Thoughful. Every time she makes a post, it is well thought out, well crafted and she posts  only when she has something to convey to the readers. There is, of course, the makings of a spirited writer in her posts. What I like most is the element of humour and wit that she often plays with in most of her posts. A very chubby and lively person - this is what I could make out after reading a lot of her posts. She is a veteran blogger. One more thing to appreciate about her is the way she has faced all the odds in her life and come out of it all quite boldly. Kudos girl! Well, I really don't know why my post is all about Ms.D. I don't know her personally. Just know her through her blogs and well this is how people get to know each other in blogosphere. I know that she is a serious blogger (unlike me) and also know that she is an engineer by profession and perhaps she is almost my age.Now, I didn't think that engineers could be creative. I felt science was totally cut off from arts and literature. I admit that it was a foolish notion of mine and ever since I started teaching engineering students I got to know that they too are normal people like us "arts graduates". I thought only people with a basic knowledge in Literature would appreciate the products of imagination. Many of my students are good in poetry, well read and some aspire to be novelists or script-writers!!! It was a revelation for me.

Another blog, which touched my heart was the blog by IHM (The Life and Times of an Indian Homemaker). Her accounts of her recently deceased daughter and the girl's remarkable blog (Tejaswee Rao's blog) were heart-rending. There are times when one is forced to think of God's wanton ways with his creations or rather I'm oft reminded of human mortality and frailty in the face of death.

The thought of death suddenly brought back the quick and untimely demise of a colleague. In fact, after attending his funeral rites, I was compelled to think of death and how it affects the dear and near ones of the demised. A shudder goes through my spine and I hate to think of it.

My life is bound, surrounded and engulfed by the dear and near ones in my life. If I am here, it's because of them. If I am happy, it's because of them. If I am anything in my life, it's because of them. I can never part ways with my loved ones. I love them to the core of my heart. Can't express it in words. And to be the part of a loving and caring family is the biggest blessing in life. To get a life partner whom you can trust to the core and love with all your life is again a blessing. I thank God for all that He has given me. I will be thankful ever.

Mindfulness....

Last few days were spent basically reading, reading and more reading. Well, it's not any literature books as you guess. It was the n number of blogs that I came across. I find it quite amusing. Understanding and observing human nature and behaviour have been one of my favourite past time activities ever since I remember. I feel the blogs do reveal a little about each person's character, likes and dislikes. I stumbled upon the blog of a schoolmate and dear friend of mine. I pinged her after many days and shared my discoveries with her. It was surprising to note a few similarities in character that we possessed which were hitherto unknown to both of us (Both of us being a little sensitive, naive and some of the quirkiness that we shared). It was nice talking to her and reading her posts. I must say her blog is a beautiful collage of her life till date - simple yet interesting!!
In fact the idea of blogging was inspired by one Ms.P, from whom I heard about blogging a few years back, guess it was in 2007. I had in fact declared her as my Tutor in blogging, though I seldom get to interact with her. I wasn't that tech-savvy during those days. I must confess, I was rather ignorant. Not that I am really good now. But I can manage on my own. My typing speed has increased tremendously, to the extent that a few people had even asked me if I have learnt type writing :D.

What I wish to achieve with my experiments in blogging would be as follows:

• Leave some of my thoughts for my dear and near ones to read after I am no more.
• As they say, any work of art (I really doubt if there is any art and creativity in mine) is eternal. I think words are eternal.
• I may wish to convey something to people around me. It could be something which I cannot tell them on face but express in my blog B-)
• I couldn't help it. I had to pen down some of my thoughts. Excuse me readers! You have to bear with my ramblings.
• Finally, as I believe there is a writer in me who wishes to liberate the woman in me (Here, I do sound like a 'feminist' - a word which has been truly misunderstood by the majority of humankind).

Impressions

It has been a long time since I thought of blogging.. Well today I started it... Writing has always been a passion for me. While doing my graduation in literature I dreamt of becoming a writer one day. I guess this thought would have occurred to many students of literature in the initial days of their literature study. I don't know how many of them thought so, but I definitely did.
I believe this idea of blogging is actually an attempt to fulfill that dream. I have read writing can relieve you of your stress which comes as a result of the mad rat race that we encounter everyday. 'The mad rat race' if I remember correctly is more of a cliche. I think I read it first in a play of Miller's.
So here I post my first entry with the hope of continuing it for a long time in my life. Life is unpredictable. You never know what happens next!!!