Humbled and Honored!

It has been a year that I set foot in the world of blogging, a bit too late, now that I think of it. I had been coaxed into it by my brother-in-law to give it a try. I was not very sure this was my cup of tea, and never understood why blogging was necessary when I had already been writing for years, using a pen and paper or for that matter, just writing on Microsoft Word. That ways, I am a little old school, I think. And I still am. I am not very good at marketing and am not out there, networking with other bloggers. But, all of this changed when I joined blogging forums and started getting comments and feedback. See, this is what is different between blogging and writing for newspapers. Though, I had been freelancing for many years, I had received true feedback only in the form of a few "Letter to the Editor" pieces. But, blogging really brought me more comments and opened up debatable topics for discussion. All such stimulating sessions set the wheels in your mind rolling. 

And I am really thankful to have been deemed worthy of the title "Versatile Blogger", by a fellow blogger. Thank you so much Vajra for the Versatile Blogger Award, which motivates me to write better and keep trying to write about different topics. It was the technical writing on my Science Blog BioMilieu (which is still taking baby steps) that got me the tag of 'versatile' and I really appreciate Vajra's gesture of recognizing it. He is a perfect example of someone who started blogging about his passion: cricket, and then moved onto more challenging themes. A big thank you to him and all the readers, who inspire me to write everyday. Your comments and feedback truly humble me and make writing so much more fun!

Now, to the rules that need to followed, once you are awarded there are certain rules to be followed:
1. Create a new post
2. Thank the lovely person who nominated you for the award
3. Pass it on to your fellow bloggers
4. State 7 random facts about you
5. Claim and post the award pic

So some random, but not very quirky facts about me:

1. I am very very passionate about teaching; brings me some strange pleasure and a smile that refuses to leave my face, when I am with my students. To read more, about what teaching means to me, you could check this post.
2. I simply love the smell of coffee beans, and I love chewing on the beans, to get the creative juices flowing. Coffee is my substitute for chocolate, when in a formal setting. If you share my love for chocolate, you might like to take a peek.

3. Flowers are my drug, give me a garden to play with, and see my fears, apprehensions scamper away.
4. I crib a lot about the harsh winter in Minnesota, but I secretly kind of love it, especially the first snow of the season. There is nothing more serene than pure, white, blanket of fresh, soft snow around (I know people close to me are going to be shocked, reading this, since I am always cold)
5. Italian food is my comfort food, I can rely on the breads, the salads and the soups to get my spirits up.
6. Demure I may look, but I manage to get really fierce; the issue or person just has to be close enough to my heart to put up a fight.
7. I am quite indecisive, to the extent that I visit a store to survey clothes, am not sure which ones to get, go back to get the ones I couldn't get out of my mind, and yet return most of them the day after :) 

Well, that is a little bit about me. And now to pass on the honor! In my short time exploring the blogosphere, I have discovered lots of wonderful blogs pertinent to specific niche areas. Here are some of the bloggers, I think deserve to be awarded for their insight of the subject they are passionate about!

1. Arun for his insightful movie reviews on his blog Passion for Movies

2. Radhika for the peppy, girly feel of her blog and blogging about all things cool on her blog Rads Blog-A-Zine 

3. Debajyoti for the quirkiness of his blog Some Facts Some Nonsense 

4. Sandeep for discussing all things close to the hearts of NRIs, and yet more interesting issues on his blog The NRI 

5. Viju for bringing together all A R Rahman lovers and creating such a great forum for eclectic music  on his blog Rahmania

6. Debdatta for her amazing capacity to read so many books and produce interesting book reviews on her blog Book Reviews by D.D.S 

7. Tomichan Matheikal for the heart-felt posts and in-depth analysis of issues on his blog Matheikal's Blog

Although there are many other blogs that make my day, and count for great reads, but most of them are well established and must have been showered with multitudes of such awards! To name a few, Nabanita (Random thoughts - Naba), Saru Singhal (Words), Purnendu (Shadows Galore) and Umashankar Pandey (One grain amongst the Storm).  There are so many perspectives to be heard and so many lessons to be learnt, and blogging just makes it a little experience. Taking a bow to blogging and all bloggers whose words provoke discussion, thought and action!