Friends, more friends and how blogs help!

People who blog and people who do not blog, rarely understand each other! (and if you dont blog but read blogs regularly, then I am not referring to you!)  This post by Adi Crazy sums up what I feel  (and I feel very strongly) about blogging beautifully.

There are many who don't blog and who think that blogging is for 'vela people'.(vela can be loosely translated as those who have no better things to do in life. I find it offensive) They say they don't have time. I think what they really mean is they don't have the inclination or the ability) which is fine, as long as you don't make sweeping statements, that too derisively about people who blog.


You connect through blogs. Your minds have met before your physical selves have. There are many who hide behind virtual identities and use the blog only to vent out frustration. But there are many more really talented  and genuine people too. The important thing is to sift out who you really want to connect with. Sometime back, I had written an article 'How real is Virtual'?   I had wondered about the validity of online relationships then-- whether they are genuine or whether people simply leave comments which they don't mean.


I have got my answers now. I have met some really amazing people  who I am proud to say are good friends with me now and we have connected only because of our blogs. I met one of my closest friends Niall only through my blog.






This time in Mumbai, I met Guru and Shru too.It was marvellous! I felt I had known them all my life! It was like meeting old friends. I shamelessly devoured dosas and Idlis (alongside them to be precise.Shru just watched me gobbling and Guru pretended to eat, to be very precise :-)) as I had just arrived in India, and couldn't wait to eat Indian food. Guru got along marvellously with Satish too, as did Shru.





In Bangalore I met Prashant.(Now better known as the Chief blogger RCB) We had been exchanging mails regularly  for a few months and we had also spoken on the phone. It did feel like I have known him for ages , when I met him. He too said the same.(He also said  really some lovely things about me and I still smile remembering his expression as he said them :-))



Then a group of us (Dhanya, Varun, Guruprasad (who comments regularly on my blog) , Prats, Prashant, me and the kids and Satish too!) who have again connected only though our blogs met at  Cafe Coffee day in Indiranagar. We had such a great time that we spent more than two hours! Time simply flies when you are having fun!







My birthday (which was on 21st) was fantabulously terrific--one of the best I have ever had! It was spent with my family and my closest friends, one of whom  had flown down to Bangalore, all the way from Delhi, just to spend the day with me.



It makes me believe whole heartedly, in the following quotes on friendship



"Two may talk together under the same roof for many years, yet never really meet; and two others at first speech are old friends."
- Mary Catherwood 


"Life is partly what we make it, and partly what is made by the friends whom we choose."
- Tehyi Hsieh 





  Friends do uplift the soul. You just have to choose the right ones.


Comments

  1. Anonymous6:31 AM

    I know what you meant by "vela people", many even some (not all) friends think of me that way, as sitting home , drinking coffee and writing rubbish :)

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  2. Hi Preety;

    That's very very true! I can relate so much to your post.

    Now I am dying to meet my good blogging friends in person. But the possibility is nil as I am from the Philippines and my friends are from different parts of the US and India, the Netherlands, Malta and every other parts of the world.

    I've experienced a different kind of connection with them and I feel how they care about a blogging friend like me.

    And the vela people, too nice an excuse but I am with you when you said that they don't really have the inclination or ability. Sounds a right excuse to say they don't have time.

    Have a nice day Preety!

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  3. You just have to choose the right ones
    "I chose you!"
    It was around Diwali that an uncle of mine got me his copy of your book 34 bubble.... I read it all in one go! Tried searching for you but everytime misplaced the surname with Athreya she was some dancer (Porcelain music) from chennai i did a review for the Metroplus,The Hindu. Then got busy with my Ph.D and luckily after i had started blogging,one day i searched for u by the name of the book and here I am following... there's a time for everything... isn't it? wish u happiness always,
    farheen

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  4. True to the last word, Preeti and you have said it beautifully in this post. I can relate so much to what you say.
    Keep smiling always!
    Cheers,
    Gayu

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  5. a post which echoed most of what i feel. blogging is like the icebreaker.

    You met quite a few people, indeed! wait! i'm sulking!!!

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  6. Absolutely, I agree totally! :)

    And I won't take offense coz I'm as real as real can be with my virtual identity :p

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  7. So true!!!

    But i am not good at making them...have only 3 to 4 very close friends with whom i can share anything with....

    Looking Forward to making some good online buddies...

    Thanks to your blogs

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  8. So so true..
    Though I myself am the most irregular writer irrespective of the fact that i love writing...Yet i do not miss on reading every single post of the ones i loved from the first visit.
    PS: I leave a comment or i do not leave one but I read every post of yours and they do not fail to add a smile.
    Thanks.

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  9. Quite true :).

    I remember the discussion about this "vella" tag too. Found the tag funny because I know a few friends who think the same, but they don't say that in my face :).

    And thank you so much for the lovely words and putting up the snap :).

    The complements were genuinely felt, of course :).

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  10. Preeti Shenoy,

    My name is Bharath Reddy Punuru. I was looking at your website and wanted to find out if it would be possible to advertise with you. I would be willing to pay you a monthly fee just to have a link to my website in your blog roll. No need for a banner ad or anything just a link to my site in your blog roll. I don’t know if you are accepting advertisers but basically I would be happy to pay just for a link.

    Please let me know if you have any questions as I assure you I am a serious and would very much like to do business with you.


    Thank you very much,

    Bharath Reddy Punuru

    Please Email me:
    workforpeter@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes ofcourse there are a lot of ppl who think we are velas...but i have come across few too...for whom blogging is like writing a novel...they appreciate them....because they are letting their heart out!! :)

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  12. Rohit: Its just the derisive tone which irks..Honestly I have nothing against non-bloggers.

    Bharath: No, thanks :) I would not ever put a link like that for money.

    Prashant: Smiled because I still remember the slighly befuddled expression u had when u said it :) Thank you :) And lucky you to find the vela tag funny..I get so irked!

    Life begins: I too am guilty of sometimes reading but not commenting! Thanks :)

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  13. Gaurav: My 'closest friends' would be 3-4 too.My friends would be more.You cant have many close friends can you?! At least I cant.

    Sparkling: Now i know you are real as I have seen your pic ;-) :-) And hey--i know you wont take offence :)

    Suma: LOL :-) Dont sulk please..pretty please..U'd look sexier with that pouty sulk :P :)

    Raaga: :-)

    Gayathri: :-)Thanks

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  14. Farheen: Thank you so much!! Truly there is a time for everything! Glad you liked my book. Are you based in Bangalore?

    Amity: you never know --you may meet them! For me too when I started writing to Niall, he was in UK and I was living in india.Meeting him seemed a distant dream. Now we have met many many times :)

    Sumanam: yeah! Most who don't blog would never know how much work actually goes into a good blog post.

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  15. Dear Preeti, i am not based in Bangalore but in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

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  16. You speak my mind Preeti. :) Wholeheartedly agree. These days my real and virtual worlds are blurring into one. I feel I have more friends through my blog than I ever have/had in real life. The quality of these new friendships is amazing too since we only connect with people who think/feel/understand where we come from. That is not to say there are no opposing views. There are and the beauty is that we agree to disagree.

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  17. oh you summed it up so nicely! many of my friends think blogging is a tp for me :) but i really do like blogging :)

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  18. mmm :)
    no words sometimes.. can I just smile at u? :)

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  19. Great post Preeti...Missed meeting you this time around :( But, there's always a next time and something to look forward to in the future.

    And, I am one who doesn't blog but reads quite a few blogs quite seriously almost daily :) Yours is one of them.

    What your blog does is inspire/motivate me, make me laugh/cry and see some pretty pictures.

    Pallavi

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  20. And if Metroplus makes you take me to Bangalore; I was doing my internship with the Hindu in Delhi then, u may check my articles @ http://earmarkedbyme.blogspot.com/

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  21. "Blogging is for vela people" - LOL!!!! Thank God I've never heard that before :)

    I completely agree with your view in this post.

    And about friends, I honestly wonder what I would do without them.

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  22. It was nice meeting up with u Preeti. And I fully agree to "Friends do uplift the soul. You just have to choose the right ones." When I've hit rockbottom, it's always the friends who have brought me up and this include friends from both real n virtual worlds..

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  23. Friends can uplift a lot of things. Soul is just one of them :)

    We had a great time in CCD. Pictures have come out really well. Never got an opportunity to comment on facebook. Must thank Satish for clicking them.

    @Dhanya - Hello, How have you been? Could you please forward the pics you clicked!?

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  24. Anonymous1:42 AM

    So true! I am always glad when I find a 'Real person' blogging as opposed to a 'Virtual one'. It's great to find a like-minded person here!

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  25. Anonymous1:42 AM

    So true! I am always glad when I find a 'Real person' blogging as opposed to a 'Virtual one'. It's great to find a like-minded person here!

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  26. A belated happy birthday! Good to see some really nice ppl together who met via blogs - Says trusting someone neednt be always so hard!

    About "vela" thing, people will find so much happiness if they try to look into new things more and judge less. Everyones special coz we are all different from one another :), right?

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  27. So So So true. I've built friendships exclusively through my blog too. I haven't yet met one of them physically, butt that doesn't seem to matter .

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  28. So glad to hear and see your blogger friends meets. It sounds so wonderful. I cannot imagine how it must feel!

    Belated happy birthday Preeti.

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  29. Anonymous10:57 AM

    there are two kind of people in this world - the one who understand blogs and the ones who dont :)

    the thing abt vela people apply not only to blogging - but also to any personal hobbies like travelling, photography - i've heard many people saying 'only if i had the time' and i smile to myself!

    its nice to know that we have atleast one blog friend :) and yeah ... i've got many people via blogs who has similar interests and luv it ... who cares abt the kind who doesnt understand bloggers!

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  30. Anonymous10:57 AM

    there are two kind of people in this world - the one who understand blogs and the ones who dont :)

    the thing abt vela people apply not only to blogging - but also to any personal hobbies like travelling, photography - i've heard many people saying 'only if i had the time' and i smile to myself!

    its nice to know that we have atleast one blog friend :) and yeah ... i've got many people via blogs who has similar interests and luv it ... who cares abt the kind who doesnt understand bloggers!

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  31. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  32. Anel: Thank u :)

    Sandeep: true--anything that matters to you, one will always make time for!

    Lakshmi: Thank you for the b'day wishes. It was indeed great meeting them :)


    Ramesh: yes! And only those who blog will understand the connection!

    Fay: true. Same applies to me too :) That i am in 'no way beter' just because I blog :)

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  33. Nilu: Yes--was happy to read your blog too.

    Varun: yes--reason I did not put them here is as it had both the childrens snaps. There was not a single photo without either of them in it! :)So shared only on FB where i have added only people I know well :)

    Dhanya: :-) It was good to meet u too. Please send snaps or upload on FB.

    Shachi: Lucky U havent! U havent missed much :)

    Farheen: Will do.thanks for sharing :)

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  34. Palsworld: Thank you :)

    Shruti: U can :-) :-)

    Doli: yes! I know what u mean!

    Laksh: yes--and in blog one is not constrained by geographical boundaries or ages. It is a mental connection.

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  35. Realllie..there are ppl who think that only “vela” ppl blog? I honestly feel sad for them…their ignorance/arrogance is nto to be taken too seriously!

    I haven’t made a gazillion friends thru blogsphere.. I know a few ppl who have become close acquaintances n then I have met one person..who is a very dear friend. I cant imagine a single day passing by w/o us exchanging an email . We send gifts to each other and our friendship is very dear to us..n also exciting..’coz we still hvnt met..n it reminds us of the pen friends we used to have during school days!

    Here is to blogging!

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  36. yay!!! That was once again that we met...but it was suc great fun.
    I really enjoyed meeting all of you, and I agree friends are such mood-lifters.

    Dhanya : i'm waiting for those snaps too :)
    and yes, Satish has taken some really good snaps, and like P would say, 'poppy takes better pictures :P heheh'

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  37. Hmmm... some bloggers are the ones I count among my closest friends today... right up there with my buddies from school, college, work etc. :) and non bloggers will never understand the "thrills". :)

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  38. Hey! A belated Happy Birthday to you :)
    Lovely post.

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  39. Anonymous5:25 AM

    Awww such a sweet post..and I agree with you 100% ..those who dont blog,cannot understand the relationships you form with your blog friends.
    I have made some very nice friends thru blogging and Iam just learning to ignore 'those' looks from non-bloggers :P

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  40. When are you flying to Dubaaaai!??

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  41. Never knew there were blogger's meet. It must be nice to meet like minded people, or may be not like minded but knowing each other well, even before meeting.

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  42. i did make a few friends thru my blog too...

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