Tag Archives: Writing

Resolutions for 2019

January 5, 2019 Ramu Das Leave a comment

I have been telling myself since the last December that when January of 2019 comes (or when I go to January), I shall not think about what most men and women (I am not sure of other animals) would be thinking. And what would they be thinking? If I am not wrong in my thinking, I think they would be thinking about keeping some New Year’s resolution. Now, I was telling that to myself in December, and I have been reminding myself of that since the last four days, because I know from experience that most, if not all, of the resolutions are going to come to naught. Yet, now, my fingers are itching to write something, and my brain is telling me that that something has to be the New Year’s resolution. Well, then, I, because I am my brain and body, I must oblige.

This year I am going to write a great deal, but most of my writing would be out of public view, unless I wish to share. I will start writing my first book this year. I am not sure in which year I will finish writing it, because completing a book is a long process. But starting it is important. It is going to be a non-fiction work, though at first my intention was to write fiction (which, I suppose, can wait for a later time). I have too many interesting and painful and funny experiences to recount.

I will learn a new language. I wanted to learn two languages this year, but I want to be more realistic this time, and do what is, to the best of my ability, considering the available time and resources, more achievable. Bangla is my mother tongue but it does not seem to be so. This year I actually thought of making it seem so as well. However, there is another language which is known to majority of Indians and which I can speak but cannot write or read, and that would be the language I would focus on this year, because considering my present situation and place, and by looking at the growing mass of people who seem to know and talk a great deal in this language, I am sure I would be in trouble if I don’t go with the flow. Yes, I am talking about Hindi.

I will read at least 35 books (fiction and non-fiction) though my aim is to read 50. If I don’t reach the star, I will land on the moon.

A small device that fits in your pocket, seem to be consuming too much of my time, in fact, I would say, it is governing my life, and I must stop this from happening. Therefore, if you haven’t got what I mean, I am going to be smart and use my smartphone less often (or only when I have to).

I will learn to cook some new dishes.

I like to travel, but, this year, I suppose, I will focus on saving my money, and I would rather find out more about the places that is not too far from my dwelling.

I will match at least 200 movies and documentaries.

That’s all I can think of at this moment, and there are some more resolutions which are somewhat private in nature, which are best kept to oneself.

What are your New Year’s resolution?

VIEWS AND OPINIONS

Making Sense by Rambling

August 24, 2016 Ramu Das Leave a comment

Does it ever happen to you that while writing one particular thing you start writing something that is altogether different from what you intended it to be, and that, surprisingly, makes all the more sense and seems interesting?

When I begin writing, I have one idea, but this one idea becomes useless compared to what, in the process of writing, I discover. Nevertheless the first idea is crucial for anything of value to emerge, for that is what urges us to write in the first place. If I don’t elaborate on the first idea, the idea stays in my mind for a few minutes and then it vanishes and I don’t get going with my writing.

When I have an empty page in front of me and a few words (the original ones), I start elaborating on the first idea, twisting and turning, writing and rewriting every words, sentences and paragraphs, and then, in this meaningless voyage that I undertake, finally I find meaning. The first idea loses its importance and ultimately I write something that even I could not think I could.

When a few people say “Wow, that’s a great stuff you have written” I smile and think, “Had I known I could write that, I would have written that a long time ago.”

Therefore, I suppose I won’t be wrong to believe that it is not in our thinking whether we can do a particular thing, but it is in our doing that we know what we are capable of.

Journal

Hello Folks!

June 14, 2016 Ramu Das 5 Comments

It’s been a while since I wrote something here (the longest gap so far). But writing something here has had always been at the back of my mind. For not writing a new blog post, for not reading something from the blogs I follow and like, I rebuffed myself every day. Alas, my excitement level of doing something new, something different, has subsided to a considerable extent.

With time I thought I would be a better writer. But then better writing demands constant writing. Again constant writing does not mean writing the same thing, or writing, time and again, what is incorrect without knowing that it is incorrect.

I write for my livelihood. So, to please the people I write for and to keep the auditors from marking me down, I end up writing what my fellow bloggers would call the mediocre kind of writing. That kind of writing does not come from my heart and I derive no joy by doing that. My organization and its small minded people have killed the creative spirit in me. I can’t give up my job either unless I get a better job at a better organization. However, times are hard. The market is down. Every organization is trying to cut down cost.

Now I am trying to recuperate my losses. From time to time I look back at what I had written earlier (two-three years ago), and I think to myself I was a better writer then than I am now. I once again want to be an active blogger and connect to my ole folks.

I earnestly hope that the next post I write does not say the same thing I said in this post.

VIEWS AND OPINIONS

Comma, Full Stop, Delete

August 13, 2014 Ramu Das 2 Comments

It’s been a while since I sat down to write a story so I thought I would give it a try today. In the morning I formed some ideas in my head and worked on it zealously. I wrote three pages. At the last sentence I did not put a full stop, though the sentence seemed absolutely complete. Oh, it is only because I wanted to expand the story a little more, thus I put a comma instead. In the evening I began working on the story once again. I changed the comma to a full stop because I could not think of doing anything about it. My mind fully stopped working. I read what I wrote, it seemed terrible, so I deleted the whole damn thing I had written.

Anyway, not writing the story prompted me to write what you are reading presently. So, thank you for reading (ha!) and I am sorry there is no wisdom in this post. I am going to go ahead and recover what I was writing (for that is the backbone of my story) from the recycle bin of my desktop.

VIEWS AND OPINIONS

The Essays Dance

May 4, 2013 Ramu Das 4 Comments

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing here?

The side effects of exams are horrible. The essays I read during the exam are still dancing in my head, and possibly they will continue to do the same for few more days. Can someone please come and hit me hard in the head with a hammer or some such other tools so that I can find answers to the above questions.

Ah! Not so hard! It pains. Nevertheless, it seems to work, thank you. My senses are back to their designated places and I have got my answers.

Alright, before I say anything more, I must say I’m happy to be alive. How about you all?

In my last post I mentioned about my exams. Well, it is over. For the first time in three years I’m a little happy about my performance in the exam, some of you had wished me luck before the exam, hence the credit is all yours.

But, I could have been the happiest person on earth had the invigilator allowed me some extra time to write, considering the fact that I’m a slowpoke when it comes to writing. I never reproduce the same answers as in the books I read, I make my own answers. Physically, I’m not defective by any chance, and this is apparent to the invigilators. The invigilator, I suppose, is not at liberty to show me any special preference. But the fact, which I can never hide, is that I am the slowest writer on earth, and I don’t mind taking own sweet time. And I always forget: time waits, but not for me.

What an irony it is, I’m a Management Student yet I have not learnt time management. Never in the past three years could I ever keep pace with the limited time in the exam hall and write all the answers, I know the answers, it is not something out of the books, and even if it is out of the books nothing can stop me from attempting them. The limited time has never failed to add to my confusion and my word jumbles and I end up writing incoherently, which otherwise I could have written elegantly had it not been the exam hour.

Academically, I have always been an average guy. The closest to being called a bright student was the time when I was in the 12^th standard, when my name came out in the papers, for there were not many competitors and very easily I could score the highest marks in certain subjects in our state. My teachers as well as my parents were delighted to see my name in print. And though my friends’ praises were faint to the extent of nothing at all, I was happy with their faint praises nonetheless.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure, when the results come out, I’ll get a first-class, like I did the last time. The paper setters of Mumbai University had been very kind in setting the question papers. Even a layman could answers the questions. Hope they will check the answers leniently.

STORIES

Do You keep A Diary?

January 3, 2013 Ramu Das 17 Comments

I never thought that someday I would maintain a diary, but last year I decided to pen down my thoughts (which are many) that keeps fluctuating in my mind on paper, so that I could reflect upon my past as I grow older, at the same time improve my writing skills.

From the 1^st of January up till the 31^st of December, I wrote all the day-to-day happenings of my life, and the happenings around me in my diary. Now, it’s 365 pages of memories that I can cherish. Let me share what I wrote on the 2^nd of January, 2012. There are certain things which are very private to me, and I cannot share them all. However, the 2^nd of January is an exception. So here it is reproduced:

Damn my phone! It always wakes me up when I’m least inclined to wake up. But I cannot defy what I must do just because of my laziness; therefore, I woke up at 6 o’clock in the morning, and did everything that a person do in the morning.

Then, at 12:05 in the afternoon, I reached my college, before entering the classroom I looked around to see if there were any latecomer who might accompany me to the classroom because I was late my five minutes, and, I feared the lecturer might not allow me inside the class if I was the only latecomer, and, ha! Luckily, there were some latecomer who looked disheveled and walked near me with a dizzy pace.

‘Late?’ I enquired, but I don’t know what made me ask that, I knew very well that they were late so much like I was.

‘Late, dude, late,’ answered a friend, and I nodded.

The lecturer inside the classroom was lecturing in full swing; her name was Smita Ramakrishna, one of the best teachers I met in this college, who also possess a fantastic sense of humor and a good taste in music, and she looks some years younger than she actually is. She teaches us Managerial Accounting. She no longer will teach us after someday, as she is moving to a better position, and is going to teaches the PG students, or so I heard.

I stood by the door and through the glass door-frame she saw me moving incoherently. The door was ajar, I pushed it a little more and said: ‘Ma’am….’ and that’s all I could say, because she made a statement: ‘31^st is over, and so is the 1^st.’ She kept examining me minutely, I could not understand the statement, and mulled over it for some time, then I realized that she made a satirical statement, though I wasn’t drowsy and did not appear inebriated or hung on to a celebratory mood – bidding farewell to the previous year and welcoming the present year – but I liked her statement. I’m a satirist myself. I could not help the urge of wishing her, and so, I said with a broad smile on my face: ‘Happy New Year, Ma’am!’ ‘Hahaha!’ She laughed.

‘Where is you ID?’ she asked, it was in my hand, and she answered her own question, ‘You are suppose to wear it on your neck and not on your hands.’ I quickly did what she said; she smiled and said, ‘Now, get in quickly, and latch the door.’

So that’s about it. Here are four suggestions on how to keep up a diary.

Be Honest. In-case you cannot be honest with others (which is very disgraceful), at least be honest to yourself. However, if you are honest with all, that’s wonderful. Personal bias should not creep in while writing about yourself, or your friends, or anyone else, that is to say, don’t make it a point to find all kind of virtues in yourself and faults in others.

Be Creative. Don’t just write about the everyday happenings that more or less are same, for example, some people might write ‘I went to college by train’ on the first day, and on the second day you write the same thing, and same thing on the third… so on you keep repeating, your writing experience would be mundane. That’s a very childish act, so try to use your imagination, try to write your feelings, your thoughts, etc, but make it different. You may write prose and poetry as well.

Improve you writing. After writing the day’s entry go through what you have written, find if you have made any mistake – grammatical or spelling – and amend them, and be careful the next time.

Keep It Private. I’m talking about personal diaries. Keep your diary in a safe place, far from people. By people I mean anyone – your family or friends – with whom you don’t like to share about your private life. My brother, for instance, takes the pleasure of reading my diary, and when I get the slightest hint that he read it, I take the pleasure of scolding him and shouting at him; “Do not touch that, you buffoon!”

The advantages of maintaining a diary are many. If you are a writer or aspire to be one, you should maintain a diary and write every day, and improve your story telling skills. You can improve your handwriting as well. I don’t believe that practice makes a man perfect, my handwriting is poor I must admit, I write very roughly; I believe that perfect practice makes a man perfect, now, slowly my handwriting is improving because I’m practicing it in the right way… better late than never. But then, perfection is non-existent, so don’t waste your time to be perfect, but you can definitely be efficient.

Do you keep a diary, or intend to?