The Little Blog

Once upon a time, and a very good time it was, there was a little blog who danced and played as his fancy took him. No one read him and he was free to be as he chose, wearing what he wanted, singing when he wanted, and talking to the flowers and insects in a language that only they could understand. And they spoke back to him. The oceans and the sky were just milestones in the strange world he inhabited. He had no first name and no last name and it did not make any difference to him.

As time passed, people began to visit his strange world, and they wondered what he was up to. He could sense this wondering, since wondering is always done in the language of rivers and ripening tomatoes. He began to look around to see what other blogs were up to, so that he could also entice his visitors to spend time with him, to come back, and to sing songs to him.

Antoine Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince is the one book that I can read over and over again.

Like the little boy from asteroid B-612, he went visiting other blogs. Some of them celebrating birthday when he visited. He wondered when his birthday was, and decided that he wanted no part of the loud partying that he saw. Some others, older ones, were full of people praising each other and thanking each other, yet it all sounded hollow, as if they were saying it like machines, without even thinking about what they were saying. He skirted the walls to keep away from the splatter of the goodies that were flying all over the place and ran out as fast as he could. He decided he had had enough of social visits.

Thank You, Frailty! Thank You, Consequence!

This is a quick post to express my gratitude to all of you who keep visiting, discussing and sharing what I put out here. I know I often fail to live up to my expectations in terms of what I would like my writing to communicate, and you not only put up with me, but actually encourage me and motivate me to become all that I was meant to be. Your compassion and concern, like terror, like silence, are good teachers. I strive to be a good student each moment.

This blog crossed 50,000 total page views last week. For me this is a major milestone. It now has an Indirank of 85, Mozrank of 3.92, and an Alexa rank of 228K. This Indirank puts SJD in the top 500 ranked blogs on Indiblogger. This blog is also listed in the extremely well-curated top 500 directory at Indian Top Blogs, and it is an honor to share that space with some of the biggest achievers from various fields. The only reason that this has been possible is you.

All of this recent growth has been organic as I realized over the last few months that my focus on promoting the blog was sometimes detracting from the quality of communication that I would like to put out. I was a little insecure that it would impact the level of engagement but you have proved me wrong.

An Interview

Between Life’s Doings is a blog on mindfulness and deliberate living that I have been following closely for quite some time now. It has introduced me to concepts and people that have greatly enriched my personal attempts to live a life of centeredness.   

When I received an interview request from Aarathi, I was pleasantly taken aback. In addition she wanted my favorite scribble. I had only recently begun sharing my own artwork on this blog, and this was a most unusual request.  Given the consistent focus of the blog, I agreed, and I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.   

Do take a look at how the interview, Doodlesof Inspiration: Subhorup Dasgupta, came out.

The Best of Times

[Note - This is the wickeder version of the earlier post. For those of you who prefer the straight and narrow, you will find the older post here.]

I walked out of the drizzle into CCD for a bloggers meet in Hyderabad. It was largely unoccupied. There were two ladies sitting in a distant corner chatting like school friends meeting after a long time. They noticed me come in and immediately pulled their bags and phones closer to themselves. They drew close to each other and whispered something. Then they turned around at me and asked, “Subho?”

I smiled and said, “Yes, How did you guess?”

Pattu, radiant in her yellows, golds and reds, said, “You look so ….,” and starting making waving motions with her hand. It looked like she was trying to describe wool being pulled out of an old sweater and rolled into loops. Or maybe blending spices into freshly cut raw mango pieces.

Cancer Treatment and Nutrition

Cancer is one of the scariest diagnoses you can receive from a doctor. Whether you are fighting cancer or are in remission, there are still some things you can do to help improve your overall health. Believe it or not, what you eat makes a major difference in how you feel and act while going through cancer treatment. Eating a healthy and well-balanced diet can have a number of benefits that you should be made aware of. Changing your diet can definitely help improve the quality of your life and the general healing process that you are going through. Jillian McKee of the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance shares the how and why in this guest post.

Proper nutrition plays many roles when combined with traditional cancer treatment. For one, a healthy diet will provide your body with all of the vitamins and nutrients it needs. These vitamins will be needed by your muscles and immune system to encourage strength and health. People who eat healthier diets may find that their bodies are able to heal more quickly after you go for their traditional treatment. It is important for you to remember that a healthy diet alone will not cure your cancer, so you need to still go for the recommended treatments set for you by the doctor.