Can we talk?

I read a lot. Online, off line.

When I used to read books, it was a two way conversation. The authors talked to me, and we were in no hurry.

Now, I read online mostly, and it is a shout out rather than a conversation.

If offline media was intimate conversations over a bottle of red wine when the light is slowly fading, online media is more like speed dating.

What are you saying?

Can I link/retweet/add to FF?

Nice meeting you - lets keep in touch via RSS.

This is the most laid back place I have ever lived. This place offers me refuge from the everyday annoyances which ate up my time in other places.

Why then, am I having the least number of conversations in this city?

By conversation, I do not mean talking and listening. I do that - I love to talk and to listen - and have been lucky enough to meet many people who indulge in that whim of mine.

By conversation, I want us to explore, in the span of few minutes or few hours, about things we have never thought of, experiences we never had, worlds which we never knew existed. I want us to debate and ask questions, to each other and to ourselves. Not all questions need to be answered though, nor we need to design a question for every answer.

I was us, not to care about the food and the drink, not get distracted by the music or the pretty sights around us. Or rather, I want us to get distracted, but only to the extent that it would lead to more conversation.

Now, the nature of such conversations have shifted. It depends on twitter's word count, and on whether you can access Jaiku. The silences which add texture to the conversations have all but disappeared.

And that is why, whenever people produce an invite for casual meetings, I always take it up even if it means having to stress out a bit with the logistics of juggling different conversations. That is exactly why, I get into CIA interrogation mode with many people. I am curious. I want to know. Tell me more.

And that is the reason for me going mute and getting lost inside my head in mid conversation. I am savoring the conversation we had, feeling it, understanding it.

So I thank you; those of you out there, who were kind enough to sit down with me and across me and have a conversation. I thank those of you who blog and are kind enough to share your blogs and thoughts with me about your country and culture. Thank you, to those who disregard the 140 character limit of Twitter and make me feel as if we are sipping hot beverages on a cool spring evening. Thank you to those who tell me their stories, opening my eyes to perspectives and thoughts I never realized existed.

I live in hope, of more interesting conversations to happen.

Four years back...

It has been almost four years since I started blogging.

When I started out, I thought I knew everything about Internet.

And today, I bemoaned the fact that ' I know nothing about the Internet.'

Still, my usage and discovery of internet is happening at a faster rate than what it was four years back.

Internet is now my primary medium for communication, entertainment and self discovery ( and self projection too).

However, during this time I realized that I opt for more and more real life experiences.

When I started as a know-it-all 21 year old and started blogging; there was a time when I used to interact more with my online readers than my real life friends.

I measured friendship on the basis of the number of comments that they added on each post. Suddenly, the time they spent on my blog was more important to me than the time they spent with me.

Thankfully, my friends thought nothing about tweaking my ear and pulling me out into the real life. Looking back, I think they provided me with a healthy appreciation of life and different options to spend my time.

So I guess I should be thanking the June 16 batch. Thanks guys; if not for you, my life would have flicked according to the whims of broadband which pumps webpages into my blood.