The Liebster Hat-trick!

Who doesn't like to be appreciated? We may deny it all we want, but there’s this little child inside each of us that does feel happy when someone acknowledges or appreciates something we do. And I am just a normal human being who feels happy and humbled to be receiving three such happy thoughts! I received them through Feb-March, but couldn't get around to posting them because of technical issues like a dead laptop and a faulty internet connection! A big thank you to Karan, Surya and The Fool who have bestowed upon me, the blogger appreciation award, the Liebster. I also learned that Liebster is German, for beloved or dearest. So, the Liebster is used by bloggers to appreciate other bloggers dear to them!

The rules of the Liebster are:

1. To post something about yourself. (Usually 11 points)
2. To answer the questions you have been asked. (Usually 11 questions)
3. To nominate other good bloggers for the award. (Usually 11 bloggers)
4.  To ask them questions. (Usually 11 questions)

I will go in random order. I would like to nominate the following six young, enthusiastic bloggers for this award! They are every bit deserving of the recognition and I hope they continue doing what they love to do!

1. Siddharth Parmar, owner of Musings of a Bookworm, a sweet little collection of experiences!
2. Shriya Shashikanth, owner of Musings of a Tween Mind, an engaging mixture of fiction and poetry!
3. Shreeya Sharma, owner of Shreeya’s Blog, where words and pictures come together beautifully!
4.  Vidur Sury, owner of Vidur Sury, a charming mix of cultures, folklore and mythology!
5. Sruthi Srini, owner of Whispers of the Butterfly, a complete mixed bag of interesting topics!
6. Scarlette, owner of Fantasia, who writes some exciting stories for Blog-a-ton!

Congratulations! You can download this award image and publish on your blog!

The Liebster

Now to the next part. Here are 10 questions for you. It would be great if you post answers to these on your blog, but they are not mandatory. Also, if you do nominate someone else for the award, it’s your choice if you want to ask them any questions or not.

1. Describe yourself in one sentence.
2. Of all the posts on your blog, which is your favourite?
3. Of all the books you have read so far, which is your favourite?
4. Do you have a favourite celebrity? Who is it and why?
5. What do you dream of doing someday?
6. If you could go to any place in the world, which would it be?
7. What’s your favourite part about a train/plane journey?
8. What is one thing that you do not like about school?
9. What’s the best gift you ever received?
10. Share a joke!

A note to the young winners: You can stop here if you wish to! If you wish to read on, you're most welcome to!

Moving on! Here’s 11 points about me.

1. I dream of acting in a play someday.
2. Math was never my favourite subject. Still isn't.
3.  If you didn't know this already, paani-puri is my first love!
4. I am terrified of dogs. They look good in pictures or better yet, 20 feet away.
5. I am a huge believer in the force of Mother Nature! But I am not a nature lover.
6. Purses don’t like me. I have lost wallets more number of times than I can remember!
7. I love to sing. I prefer to sing Indian (Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi so far) songs though.
8. I hate eating cooked brinjals (eggplants). Makes me think I am eating snakes. Don’t know why!
9. I feel horrid because I have a bad long-term memory. I forget incidents I shouldn't be forgetting!
10. I would rather play outdoor sports with my friends than sit inside and gossip or, God forbid cook!
11. I have a lot of admiration for people who take the path much less traveled, to follow their dreams!

The last section is answering questions posed to me as a part of this award. 33 questions in all. Surya, Karan and TF – in the same order that these happy thoughts came my way. Surya, who blogs at Flawed, Cracked but Rare, is a friend from school. But then we lost touch along the way! Today, she’s this amazing woman who started out an engineer but is well on the way to cherishing her dream. She is a freelance designer and modeler – her models ranging from houses to cars and more! Here are the questions she asked me.

Why do you blog? To write about (and possible share) the experiences that affect me more than others!

A favourite quote and why? Why pick a favourite? I’ll give you five favourite quotes J  Link here.

What’s your greatest pet peeve? That people do not honour their own word and commitments, time commitments or otherwise.  It’s become a fashion these days to arrive late for any meeting – formal or informal!

What’s that one thing you appreciate the most? Comes back to the pet peeve. The one thing I appreciate most is when people are considerate of each other’s time and stick to their commitments!

Productivity or Creativity? What’s more important to you and can the two be combined? I pick Creativity. Productivity is more tightly aligned with efficiency and time management. Creative souls cannot be bound by time constraints, schedules or deadlines. When the muse strikes, short term productivity usually follows. But it cannot be consistently combined with creativity.

Are you a day-time person or a creature of the night? I do think I am a day time person. But when I am deep into writing (be it a post or a short story), I sometimes do feel obsessed so it can stretch much later into the right.

What does the word ‘Speed’ remind you of? Keanu Reeves! Unfortunately, that was the only movie I liked him in. And that’s the original Speed movie, not Speed 2!

How long have you been blogging? I dabbled with writing a couple of posts between 2005 and 2007. But I started blogging in the true sense only in 2011.

What’s your poison? I don’t think I crave any particular one or even have a favourite! But metaphorically speaking, stress. For some reason, I can’t seem to live without it!

Do you have a nickname (not a pet-name) and why are you called that? Unfortunately, I don’t have one. It would have been fun though!

The topic / category / label you find yourself blogging the most about? I call them Reflections. They’re my thoughts about happenings around me, mostly experiences that affect me more than others do.

When, Karan who blogs at Scribble gifted me the Liebster, I was pleasantly surprised. Karan wasn't someone I interacted with on a daily basis. Knowing that someone outside your usual circle appreciates your blog, was a very powerful feeling! And here are the questions from Karan. 

What made you start your blog? In 2011, I happened to overhear a conversation involving children that left me dumbstruck in the end. I just had this insane urge to write about it (Link here). That was my ‘true’ start to blogging and defined the need to blog. To share with others the experiences that affect me more than others!

Do you encourage others to start blogging? Absolutely. But I don’t think it would be blogging specifically. It’s more an encouragement to express oneself in some mode or medium, whatever works for them!

How many incomplete blogs you have written that you somehow couldn't complete? Why so? I have about 4 posts saved as drafts because I am still in the process of putting information/thoughts together on those!

Do you have any childhood dream you want to accomplish? If yes, what it is? I remember being fascinated by Mr. India and wanting to be like him! I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon! J

What is your most embarrassing moment? Sigh. There are so many. But the one I remember the most (and it’s kind of a sweet memory nonetheless) is when I was in the sixth standard and there was this stream behind our school. It had a thin rocky bridge, which you could cross, walk about 6-8 steps, to get to the other side in. The problem was only one person could get on at a time. I remember seeing this girl get on and yet got on it myself. Needless to say we fought and there I went! Splashing into the water with a huge audience laughing at me! J I still remember her name, though I have no idea where she is now!

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? Aah, how about being Mr. India here? Wear the cloak of invisibility just like Harry Potter did!

The best compliment you have got till date? There was something an ex-Project Manager of mine had told me when she was leaving the company. And this was when I was in my first year at work! I still remember her words “You have a lot of enthusiasm and dedication to do everything. Make sure, that in the mundane run for life’s little things over the years, you don’t ever lose that zest for life.” It was a compliment and advice rolled into one!

Craziest thing you did? I have to say – Skydiving! Jumping out of a tiny airplane at 13,000 feet. Especially after the shock you get when the jumpers in front of you jump out and literally disappear into thin air. It feels like they have been sucked into a vacuum! But it was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime, must-try experience!

Which possession of yours you can’t tolerate to be touched by others? I am not really possessive about any of the things I own. So I have to say, none.

Define yourself in 4 words. Impulsive. Self-confident. Emotional. Dreamer.

What does this award mean to you? I consider it a genuine note of appreciation. Thank you. 

And finally, the most recent Liebster came my way on International Women’s Day! Using the pen name of ‘The Fool’ he blogs at Lucifer House Inc. For someone who I see making headlines in the realm of science-fiction and/or fantasy fiction, he can be highly philosophical and extremely realistic at times. Needless to say, I am finding his questions the toughest to answer.

* Disclaimer * Everything that has happened so far has led to me, the nation and the world as it stands today. And while they might not be ideal situations today, I do think that they will be lessons instrumental in shaping tomorrow. So ideally, I wouldn't want to change anything, even if I had the power. However, just for the sake of this post, here goes.

One event in your life that you would change if you had the power to do so. The first time I cowered down to a person who treated me less than deserving. I know better today.

One event in the history of our nation that you would change and why. Just like countries have a cap on the number of visas given out to travel abroad, I would have liked to set a cap for the number of Indians who can work on outsourced projects even while they are in India. By force or by rotation, we would probably have had more people work to improve our nation’s various systems.  

One event in the history of the world that you would change and why. Nip the very source that first thought about racism / whites vs. non-whites.

One book that you would wish unwritten from the world and why. Thinking ... thinking ... thinking ... I can’t think of a single one (Other than controversial ones which I would rather refrain from naming!).

One famous historic personality you wish unborn from the history of the world and why. Adolf Hitler.  He must have played an important role in how the world stands today, but that does not warrant the loss of human life and atrocities carried out.

One famous scientific discovery or invention that you would like to un-invent and why. Can Apple computers be counted here? J Why? The link here, is just a trailer!

If you had a chance to be in some other era, which would it be and why? The future! I do want to see if artificial intelligence takes over mankind someday. (Got to be precise timing!)

One fictional character you wish had existed in reality and why? Mr. India! I really love that concept, don’t I? To be able to do what real, existing, ‘visible’ people cannot!

One imaginary invention or scientific discovery that you wish existed today. Mr. India’s watch! Except – I want it to work against ‘red’ colour too!

One historic personality you would like to bring back from dead today and why? I have to say Nelson Mandela. I do admire those who fight for equal rights even as they have to brave extreme opposition.

If you could get into the shoes of a historic personality or fictional character, who would it be and why? Sometimes I think Tintin and sometimes I think Jasmine! From Aladdin. Flying around the world on a magic carpet, that’s got to be something isn't it! 

Phew. Never knew answering 33 questions would take so long! But they made me think, look deep within and remember some fun days and memories! J And with that, ladies and gentlemen, the award ceremony comes to an end! Have a beautiful day and a great year ahead! Until next time, farewell, adios, sayonara!

I would love to hear your views!