Having missed the first blogmeet a month ago, I was on tenterhooks to attend the second one this Saturday. Ujjwal and I planned to go together. If you drive in Kathmandu, you know what the hell traffic is. In Thapathali, near the meeting venue, a taxi nearly hit us but we were luckily saved, for blog's sake!
The rainwater had filled the potholes making me unable to give way to the taxi in that narrow alley. I pondered over this: We bloggers talk about making our voice heard in world arena, we use the 21st century technology while we trudge through the grim realities of third world. It's ironical that living in a third world, we boast of a first world medium called blog. But as the cliché goes: technology defies boundaries.
Pleasantries over, the session kicked off with Ujjwal's unusual announcement: this is unblogable… Be it as it may. So, there emerged plans, agendas and more importantly the "can-do" attitude. Plans aside, what impressed me was Nepali bloggers' willingness to interact. The meeting was not over even after it's conclusion was announced. The best part for me was my trysts with hitherto invisible or barely visible bloggers in person. We have read them a lot, but haven't seen face to face! There was Utsab,presumably a new kid in the block. I had linked his Valentine post in my recent entry.
Similarly, Keshav a hitherto mysterious looking figure turned out to be amiable. I asked him the very question that must have haunted him like a ghost. Why is your beard and hair so long, fella? He smiles, I know he has been asked this before. "Coz I don't shave." I noticed he has been repeating this answer since ages. No, a journo is never satisfied with such tricky answer. And, Keshav, an ex-scribe, knows this too well. To probe is our profession. He finally divulged that he is a naturalist. So, he has been savoring this gift of nature. Or, has he? Mr. Keshav, for your kind information, is a Masters level student of Microbilology. It's something I have never understood why biology has to be studied in micro level! Ah, ignorance is bliss. Here is my take on Keshav: he looks less like a blogger and more like a sadhu. Phew, I devoted whole paragraph trying to unravel the mystery called Keshav!
Two female bloggers often clung to each other as if our male milieu was an alien territory. Nevertheless, they duly represented the other half of humanity and gave one or two noteworthy suggestions.
I had seen Tajim's photo in his blog but Tajim in flesh and blood was entirely different. Utsab was telling me I looked different from the pic in my blog. No comments… Did someone say pictures are always beautiful than the real persons?
KP joined a tad later while Umesh showed up towards the end. So did Shailendra and Tapas. Hey, how can I forget Mr Harsha? He was an early bird because his office Martin Chautari is just stone's throw away.
I often thought that blogging will be limited in virtual space that we have created and at the end of the day you relish your own writing and the comments from the readers. Now, I know how wrong I was. Here we were a bunch of Nepali bloggers discussing passionately, planning our moves and future courses, sharing experiences. If you also are a blogger, don't miss the rendezvous. Be there at Freedom Forum, Thapathali, near Martin Chautari, in the first Saturday of every Nepali month. Don't worry, complimentary cups of tea will be served. See you there.
