2011 is being predicted as the year of the blogs and the web and of mobile marketing. It is also the year of conferences, symposiums, workshops and the lot. A zillion things happening and at what an unimaginable pace!! Undeniably, there are more than several reasons to attribute to the breathlessness that 2011 has brought along with it.
Starting the oh-so-hectic year by attending my first ever Indibloggers meet at Bangalore. A meet that I had looked forward to, since a very very long time. And my wait was justified to the T. The congregation was of amazing dimensions and also for a very noble cause.
The Akshaya Patra foundation (pardon the simplicity with which I describe the immensely noble cause) offers government school children with a hot, wholesome midday meal- EVERYDAY. And the number of children it feeds daily, happens to have crossed the millionth mark, a long time ago. The Chairman, Madhu Pandit Dasa and the Vice Chairman, Chanchalapathi Dasa mesmerized the crowd with the story of the origin, growth and popularity of Akshya Patra. Presently counted among the top 10,000 charitable organizations in the world, Akshaya Patra and its team wholly believe that the contribution of ideas, expertise and time for this cause is much much above the monetary donations.
Going forward with the Indibloggers event- it was amazing to see the diversity among the bloggers. From ones who believe in penning away anything that tickles their imagination to ones who limit their posts to the four walls of the kitchen- from technos, experts and geeks to people whose camera spoke volumes for them. Serious attention was grabbed by one blogger who had written a poetry about Mallika Sherawat and got a call from her as well (his comments will remain beyond the scope of this blog, though ;-)
Then there were ones who dwell with poetry and fiction to those whose forte was politics and satire...the categories were close to infinity and so was the level of enthusiasm....not just in the beginning but till the last minute
The apprehensive, excited, wide-eyed and bubbling first timers met the 'been-there-done-it' second and third timers as excitedly as old friends....all writers of their own merit. The chirpy and cooperative Indibloggers team did a fantastic job maneuvering the event from the beginning to the end. Be it coordinating the to and fro trips on the Indibus, the welcome and introduction of 60 bloggers or the really exciting "Live and let comment" round and "IndiForum Redux"- they deftly saw to the overall participation andgrabbed those eyeballs wherever required.
And then there the goodies- cool looking Indiblogger T-shirts for all the blogging fraternity, smart picture frames for the highest comments among many others. Hot crunchy samosas, cool sips- before and after the meet, the extremely tasty midday meal of Akshya Patra- the palate of the hungry bloggers were not left unattended to, either!! Hats off guys!!
With this event, came the inspiration I was searching for since a long time- so here I am, all enthused and ready to face the demanding 2011. Also eagerly looking forward to the next inspiring Indiblogger event. I'm sure it is going to be even more fun, with lots more bloggers to network with (and get autographs from)!!
Starting the oh-so-hectic year by attending my first ever Indibloggers meet at Bangalore. A meet that I had looked forward to, since a very very long time. And my wait was justified to the T. The congregation was of amazing dimensions and also for a very noble cause.
The Akshaya Patra foundation (pardon the simplicity with which I describe the immensely noble cause) offers government school children with a hot, wholesome midday meal- EVERYDAY. And the number of children it feeds daily, happens to have crossed the millionth mark, a long time ago. The Chairman, Madhu Pandit Dasa and the Vice Chairman, Chanchalapathi Dasa mesmerized the crowd with the story of the origin, growth and popularity of Akshya Patra. Presently counted among the top 10,000 charitable organizations in the world, Akshaya Patra and its team wholly believe that the contribution of ideas, expertise and time for this cause is much much above the monetary donations.
Going forward with the Indibloggers event- it was amazing to see the diversity among the bloggers. From ones who believe in penning away anything that tickles their imagination to ones who limit their posts to the four walls of the kitchen- from technos, experts and geeks to people whose camera spoke volumes for them. Serious attention was grabbed by one blogger who had written a poetry about Mallika Sherawat and got a call from her as well (his comments will remain beyond the scope of this blog, though ;-)
Then there were ones who dwell with poetry and fiction to those whose forte was politics and satire...the categories were close to infinity and so was the level of enthusiasm....not just in the beginning but till the last minute
The apprehensive, excited, wide-eyed and bubbling first timers met the 'been-there-done-it' second and third timers as excitedly as old friends....all writers of their own merit. The chirpy and cooperative Indibloggers team did a fantastic job maneuvering the event from the beginning to the end. Be it coordinating the to and fro trips on the Indibus, the welcome and introduction of 60 bloggers or the really exciting "Live and let comment" round and "IndiForum Redux"- they deftly saw to the overall participation andgrabbed those eyeballs wherever required.
And then there the goodies- cool looking Indiblogger T-shirts for all the blogging fraternity, smart picture frames for the highest comments among many others. Hot crunchy samosas, cool sips- before and after the meet, the extremely tasty midday meal of Akshya Patra- the palate of the hungry bloggers were not left unattended to, either!! Hats off guys!!
With this event, came the inspiration I was searching for since a long time- so here I am, all enthused and ready to face the demanding 2011. Also eagerly looking forward to the next inspiring Indiblogger event. I'm sure it is going to be even more fun, with lots more bloggers to network with (and get autographs from)!!
It was indeed a good event to be a part of. I also liked the information exchange towards the end - when the groups were divided into 4 topics.I thought some really interesting points were shared.
ReplyDeleteIt was really a great experience...will read your poems :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking through the entire event! I surely missed this indiblr meet since my association with indiblogger. This would have been my 5th such meet! Anyways, glad to read through your article and knowing you! Welcome to indiblogger community :)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Gyan, Ankit & Mohan.... It is really encouraging to have such a warm welcome to the Indiblogger family. Thanks for promoting the article on Indiblogger too!!
ReplyDeleteBlore bloggers make me nostalgic...just moved out of the city after 5 yrs...and missing it...Nice informative post.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful write up. Adding your blog to my regular reading...
ReplyDeleteKeep blogging! :-)
@Karthik- Thanks a lot, for the encouraging comments & also for the follow up. I'm all inspired now. Will definitely keep blogging :)
ReplyDelete@Alka-Thank you. Hope you see you in the next meet.
hi Swati
ReplyDeleteu describe the event so nicely as i was also the part of it.thanks for stoping my blog and hope in future .keep in touch
very nicely put. great
ReplyDeleteThis time around i invited my wife and shalini to join the meet and ultimately join Indiblogger blogging community. They too were impressed by the concept despite reporting to the event directly from the office. kudos to Indiablogger team, gr8 show looking forward for the next meet in Bangalore
ReplyDelete@Santosh Ji. Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you at Indiblogger mett this time & visting your blog was quite fruitful as I worked on one of the recipes , with great success!!
ReplyDelete@Pramod... thanks a lot for the encouragement.
@Umesh Sir. Thanks a lot for visiting my blog. Hope the Indiblogger family keeps growing. Also, appreciate the great work they are doing!