Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Me, myself and my blog...

My previous post on readers' appearances has sprung some more questions and thoughts in my mind. Writing has different meanings for different people. Some write because they like to express their thoughts in words. For others, it's a way of communicating. Some write because they...well, like to write. For peace. As therapy. For recognition (not to be confused with comments on other blogs, am talking about authors, wannabe novelists and others) and fame, for exploiting their talent of the written word and so on...bottomline, writing does wonders to the brain. It oils the brain, it helps us think better, makes us feel better and generally makes us confident. But you know I've known a lot of people in my life-time who're excellent writers but clam up the moment they're asked to talk. They just can't speak in the same lucid manner they write. And I guess that's ok, every coin has two sides. And in some cases they're also extreme introverts, but hey, seat them in front of a keyboard and they'd put Jim Carrey to shame with their flamboyance. A case in point. I used to know this one guy at work, a couple of years ago. Silent, mild...he rarely spoke and the time that we did actually bump into each other, we'd exchange the cursory raise of the eyebrow with a curved line that probably resembled a smile if stretched any further. But that's it. I even had this itchy urge to go up and ask, 'err, excuse me but are you undergoing therapy of some kind to improve your speech?' Nice guy. Around the same time I started blogging and soon got to know a lot of 'em. There was this blogger who was comparatively louder than the rest. His comments were filled with !!!! and @@@ and...well, you get the point. Just out of curiosity I sneaked into his blog one day and there you are - more !!!!s and @@##$$s..and boy was he expressive! Funny, loud and at times, excuse me - a little offensive to my taste. And surprise, surprise. Turns out to be our 'I-wanna-talk-but-my-smile-is-in-the-way' guy from my office. I couldn't 'hyde' my amazement at this jekyl. And you won't believe it if I said this, the next opportunity I got, I asked him about his blogging and he just smiled his acknowledgement nervously and the very next day - hey presto! his blog's gone. Poof! Just like that...

Now I don't mean to put off all those people who want to explore their 'other' side blogging. I mean, to each his/her own and it's only fair that they find their means of doing it. But it makes me think, not to mention feed my brain with another idea for a story, and I wonder at this wonderful machine called the 'human being'.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never been able to imagine a face that goes with a blog. I think it's more about personality than physical appearance. I've met lots of people off the blogs and maybe I've been lucky, but they've always been the same offline as online.

But yes, it IS amazing how anonymity can bring out a different side of someone's personality. I suppose, really, that we're all so used to hiding bits of ourselves as we move through our different lives at home, with friends, at work, with clients, that perhaps the only true expression of ourselves can come through anonymity.

*must learn to not write essays in comment boxes*

phatichar said...

kahini: Yeah, anonymity does bring out the real us...and it's surprising how much of it we hide..

Do feel free to write essays here, tho'.. ;)

Sudipta Chatterjee said...

Phatichar, you put it very aptly. Perhaps the Mr. Hyde comes out more easily than the real Dr. Jekyll. Anyway, end of the day it is still the same coin, isn't it?

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