Explaining my two-week absence from the blogosphere (and an inscription!)

The last couple of weeks have been rather eventful and not the good kind. My father contracted typhoid in early December and despite repeated tests, he wasn’t diagnosed.  Two weeks ago, he developed complications and had to be hospitalised, and naturally, blogging took a back seat as I rushed from home to college to hospital. I am looking forward to catching up now that he is back home now and recovering well.

One thing on my list for FPP in 2013 has been better interaction with all you lovely folks. So, if there is anything you want me to write about or a particular destination you would like to see photographs from, just drop me a line. Comment on the blog, message or post on the facebook page (link in the sidebar) or hit me with a tweet and rest assured, I will follow up. 🙂

I leave you with the photo of this inscription I encountered on the mosque inside Purana Qila (Old Fort) in Delhi. Unfortunately, I do not know what it means. Let me know if you do!

#100

I made a short trip to Rajasthan for a cousin’s wedding, or rather, I was forced to by my parents, and dragged along unwillingly. Now, initially, I was thinking about doing something special for my hundredth post, but then I saw this and knew immediately that nothing I can come up with will beat these smiling faces I encountered in Rajasthan.

Presenting, very Happy #100 to FPP.

Thank you all for sticking around, for making this blog what it is and for being forever kind. I will try to be regular and to not disappoint you. If you have suggestions, brickbats, or just want to say hi, drop me a line at the listed e-mail address. See you around. 🙂

Boredom. And firecrackers.

In my part of the world, life is currently non-existent. When I say my part of the world, I mean that fraction of a space where I live – under a rock. Here, the reigning king, His Highness Exam III, has put a ban on all things good and this includes the will to exist.
I hope you can forgive me for not visiting your blogs. It is hard to resist, but once I start perusing the blogosphere, I hardly ever go back to what I should be doing (drowning in 7.65 tons of literature). But I’ll get right to it as soon as I’m done with my exams. So while I battle my existential crisis, here’s a little treat for you guys.

 

Of Wine and Conversations

I was invited to an event organised by Ginger Claps at Cheri One in conjunction with Four Seasons this afternoon. Wonderful ambiance, interesting conversations and oh boy, don’t even get me started on the wine. I believe I should let it do the talking.

 

Dell Blogathon 2012 – The unfortunately titled event

Dell Blogathon 2012 was an interesting event, that it had nothing to do with blogs per se is a different matter altogether.

The event was hosted at The Second Sin, MGF Metropolitan Mall in Delhi and sponsored by Dell, Belkin and Yebhi.com. Fairly big names who, as was expected, spent a decent amount of time self-promoting. Dell showcased its three latest laptops including the XPS 13. Fancy machine. Representatives from Belkin and Yebhi.com talked about their latest ventures.

The parched crowd having traveled from various parts of the city (and some even from different cities) in the scorching heat heaved a sigh of relief when the drinks started flowing (free Foster’s for the win!). Once the snacks were dished out the mood improved further. The taste palette was in for a real ride with dishes like Lazy Snakes Rolls, Farmville Potatoes and Spotify Paneer, but my favorite was the Instagram Cake, probably the tastiest strawberry cheesecake I’ve had in a long time.

Once everyone had had their full, we settled down again for the ‘Amazing People Series’ and met four interesting fellas. Karan Singh, the psycho-illusionist, wowed the audience with his ready wit and extraordinary talent. This was followed by a talk by Abhishek Baxi who planned his entire wedding on Evernote. Unfortunately, I missed Gaurav Mishra, or more popularly, Gauravonomics, for I was craving a smoke. But I’m glad I returned in time to catch Andrew Hoffland or Uncle Andy as he is fondly called. ‘Jack of all trades and master of none’ (his words, not mine), he is one colorful personality who infused a new enthusiasm in the crowd with his excellent mimicry skills and crackling wit.

I even got the chance to use my dormant Twitter account to tweet about the event, but since I was only doing so for the prizes, I got bored soon enough and stopped. Prizes were distributed and the event came to a close with cameras clicking away to glory.

Finally, to elaborate on the opening statement: here was an event that called itself a blogathon, but sadly, forgot an essential quality of bloggers. You may choose to disagree, but most of the bloggers I have come across are a tad socially inept (yours truly included), and take some time before opening up. Sadly, the maze-like decor of the venue, lack of open spaces and absence of a formal introduction session dampened the enthusiasm. I, for one, chose not to roam around and mingle because no matter where I went, I kept bumping into people or awkwardly placed furniture.  Another grievance many voiced was regarding the agenda of the meet. Bloggers come from all walks of life and the event saw in attendance food bloggers, photo-bloggers, writers, fashion-bloggers, social commentators, tech-bloggers and even power-point bloggers (wonder what that constitutes). It was a mixed bag of people who, at a certain level, failed to connect for myriad reasons. I reckon if the agenda was spelled out clearly in the invite, it would’ve helped attract like-minded individuals.

Nevertheless, one must applaud the organisers’ effort. For an inaugural event, it was quite successful. So, kudos to them, and here’s hoping that the next blogathon is even better.

Photographs from the event –

Yebhi.com

Demonstrating the Belkin contraption that connects to the set top box at home and lets you watch TV on the go.

Uncle Andy