LEIBSTER NOMINATION

Ta .. da.. I have been nominated for a Leibster Award. 

First and foremost, I am grateful to Veturisarma for nominating my blog for a Leibster Award.

The Liebster Award  is an award given by bloggers to up-and-coming bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. In German, “Liebster” can mean a variety of things: most beloved, lovely, kind pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, etc.

This is how the award works ...

• Link back to the persons blog who has nominated you and convey thanks for giving the award.
• Answer all questions posted by the nominator.
• Nominate 10 more bloggers whom you feel are deserving of more subscribers; you pass the award on to them.
• Create 10 questions for the nominees.
• Contact the nominees and let them know that they have been nominated for the Liebster Award!

For as long as I can possibly remember (I confess that memory is not an area of my strengths), movies have fascinated me and have remained an enduring passion. I discovered the joy of writing in my higher secondary years and have been penning sundry pieces off and on to school magazines or even essays for several exams I took. When my rookie submission to  The Hindu's Open Page - Mobcasting Menace - was published in 2006, I was enthralled and grew further in confidence about my ability to write. 

Despite venturing into the blogosphere as early as 2008 with my initial post, it was to be followed by a lazy fallow period of five years, when my writing was restricted to drab office correspondence and an occasional report as a sarkari babu. It was during the last year and half or so, when I started putting up Facebook posts to share my thoughts on the movies I had watched, I found that there was quite a bit of positive respsonse for them among my friends. The final push came from my good friend, fellow blogger and someone, I can as well refer to as my blogging mentor - Sakshi Nanda (Click here to follow her much awarded superlative blog !!) who in a way dragged me back to my long abandoned blog. Since then, I have discovered, nay rediscovered, a long forgotten joyous part of me. 

Now, I am at the happy intersection of two of my favourite activities and I find that my joy of watching movies is further accentuated by the idea of sharing my thoughts on them through this blog. A double delight indeed. While it is undeniably true that writing to express oneself is a very personal experience, I believe that it is equally true that writing in public domain like a blog is also an interactive experience where the readers are as much a part of the process as the writer and in their own unique ways contribute to what is written. 

I wish to thank every reader of this blog and I hope that posts in this blog bring the same amount joy to them as I have in writing them.

Now, after that loooooong prelude, I come to the business part of the award and begin by answering the questions posted to me by my nominator. 

1.      Which character from any work of fiction you can identify yourself the most with?

           While each of us are unique in our own ways, one character that I find an immediate resonance with is the character  of Guido played by Benigni in Life is  Beautiful  for its persistent positive outlook even in the grimmest of circumstances.

2.      What is your most favorite movie and why?

        There are so many I thoroughly enjoy that it would be not be possible  to identify any one as the most favourite.  Nevertheless, if you were to insist, I would count (in no particular order) The Dark Knight Trilogy (especially The Dark Knight), Old Boy, Joint Security Area,  To  Kill a Mockingbird, 12  Angry Men, Rashomon, Toy Story series, Kung Fu Panda, Wall  E,  Udaan and  several other movies that I've written about in this blog.

3.      What is your reading frequency?

       It has been coming down steadily. I try to read for about an hour or so every day. 

4.     What is the greatest challenge you face in writing?

      To find time at a stretch is the key challenge. Most times, I do it in bits and pieces in the small lumps of time that I manage to pinch from my schedule. 

5.     What makes you want to read a book? It’s blurb? Review from a person you like? Cover Page? Author’s previous works?

    My familiarity with the author and his previous works as well as recommendations/reviews from trusted sources. 

6.      What are your reading patterns?

     I try to read an hour at least every day before I sleep. I also read whenever I have to wait for something/someone.

7.     How do you fight blogger’s block?

      Haven't come across that yet unless you would count laziness as block. So, can't comment on it yet.

8.     Do you think setting yourself a target works in writing?

       No targets. I watch movies and start jotting thoughts in the blog which I develop as and when I find time.

9.      How important do you think grammar is in writing? Especially in English?

       I strongly believe grammar is very important in writing in any language. It may sound a bit out of date. Nevertheless,  I feel grammar brings a structure which renders the writing readable and aids in clear communication of the ideas as intended by the writer.  

10.  What time of the day is the most conducive for you to write?

       

      Quite literally, any time is a good time as long as I feel like it. 

Next up, I am required to nominate ten other bloggers for the Leibster Award. Here are my nominations (in no particular order).

1. Nivedita Louis - http://cloudninetalks.blogspot.in/
2. Sakshi Nanda - http://sakshinanda.blogspot.in/
3. Sibichen Mathew - http://sibi-cyberdiary.blogspot.in/
4. Vishal Kataria - http://alwaysarocker.blogspot.in/
5. Alex Paul Menon - http://alexmenon.blogspot.in/
6. Manivannan - http://manivannan1972ias.blogspot.in/
7. Rajesh Dangi - http://bangalore-city.blogspot.in/
8. Baby Anandan - http://babyanandan.blogspot.in/
9. Sadhu Narasimha Reddy - http://itcsa.blogspot.in
10. Abhishek Dhingra - http://xpress4life.blogspot.in

Finally, here are my set of ten questions for the nominees.

1. Which recent movie you saw would you recommend to others and why ?
2. Describe your ideal holiday?
3. What do you admire most about yourself ?
4. What quality do you find most attractive in others?
5. What would be the best job/profession for you?
6. A dessert for which you would never say no ?
7. What/Who inspires you to write ?
8. What is the best compliment you've received so far for your writing ?
9. Is democracy overrated ? 
10. A subject/language/skill you would love to learn ?