100!

For some reasons, 100 has has become synonymous with achievement, or, may be, satisfaction, or celebration, for that matter. 100 marks in the exam, 100 years of living, 100 runs in a cricket match, 100mph cricket ball, 100 team points in a football league, 100 likes may be, for the more socially active people, 100 children (Indian history / mythology is replete with examples), and many more such joyful examples. Marriage was a little tough to slot it, you see, partly because of the joyful bit and the rest because, well, 100 years is simply too much. Anyway, I wanted to experience the feeling as soon as I could. I wanted to add 100 blog posts to my list, as I could never score a perfect 100 in exam or hardly made any cricket runs. This was the easiest. Admitted that 100 blog posts is nowhere comparable to aforementioned feats, 100's of people have written posts far exceeding 100 in number, but it is no mean feat either. Not for me, or for those 100's of writers who start a blog and then, renege on their promise.

I must admit that blogging, or writing, in general, was never quite in my scheme of things. I started writing only to contest that my cousin is the one bestowed with the best of literary nous-es in our family, and the most gifted. He still is, but one thing where I surpass him is that I am the most prolific. This is satisfying in its own right. You can beat Waugh in the number of runs, but never in class or elegance. To his Mark, I played the Steve. I have been writing since the first year in college, started trashy, still am scratchy, at best, but I persisted. The result is immensely satisfying 100 posts. I only noticed this a couple of months back when I was at 98. The 99th took a long time, partly because of the tough task I was up to (writing a series) and partly because of the nervous 90's. Having scored most of my posts through gentle daps to the slip cordon or through misfields or aerial shots landing in no man's land, I thought if that is the way it has to be, then so be it. What you don't want at 99 is to get out. So, I flashed, and flashed hard, and it went like a tracer bullet. This was just what the doctor ordered. And here I am, arms raised in acknowledgement, soaking in the "electric atmosphere".

I think many times during these 6 years, I thought enough was enough, and I should call it quits. To be honest, I never had enough readers on my blog. Some said it was too boring, some said it was too pretentious, and some did not understand. But I knew that I had to work hard on my blogging, and I did. I kept making comebacks, with the occasional post garnering enough attention and guaranteeing me enough pride to keep writing the next 10. I started with few essays and then "started dealing in sonnets". After a while, all three kinds of posts were possible. Blogger was being taken to the cleaners, and before anyone could realize, I was already into my 90's. It was the toughest part of my blogging life. It took me "64" days to move from 98 to 99. But I am a cool customer, with loads of experience. I sensed at 99 that the atmosphere was electric and the appreciation I got for my post was deafening. So I just cleared my head, settled down, and tried to concentrate on the next post. And here I am, regarded by some as the best exponent of dogged writing, having made Blogger my bunny, with my 100th post.

Come what may, there have been reasons enough for me to write. I think every blog post has been an advertisement for writing. With the advent of Twitter, some thought, blogging would become endangered. I can, after 100 posts, proudly say that writing long posts, or blogging, if you will, is still regarded as an art and the purest form of testing the technical soundness of any writer. But there is always room for all forms of writing, it is only the small matter of striking the right balance. In the end, I think, writing, or more precisely, blogging is the winner.