One Lovely Blog Award - What Inspires Me and What Keeps Me Going?

When I look back in time, I can’t find the moment that ignited the writer in me. In fact, the funny thing is that although I write professionally for a living, I don’t really consider myself a professional writer. I am a passionate one, but it’s hard to tell anything about the early days of that passion. I believe the roots of my writing lie in the fact that I was reserved and shy, but at the same time I had the urge to share what I was observing quietly. I was observing people, things, circumstances and even my own life and I wanted to share that on a large scale without uttering a word because when I utter more words my feet tremble, my hands shake and my voice would get choked.

Anyways, this post is dedicated to all the people that inspire me and push me to write better. Generally, it is the people around you that push you to do better and to reach out for things that you think is far beyond your reach. For me, it’s the quite opposite. Although, there are people close to me that have encouraged me to do better, I have more people who are far away from me, but they have allowed me to go beyond my comfort zone and try new things.

Today, when I woke up I saw an email from Cheryl with a note that she nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award. I was touched, deeply. I mean I have friends that don’t even read my blogs and somewhere out there I have Cheryl, never met me in person and she is nominating me pushing my simple content to people she know. Cheryl, I am so grateful to you for all this. So, as she mentioned I am writing this and taking the chain ahead.

Like she said there are certain things that you need to do to take this forward:

First, copy and paste the logo to display the award.

Second, give out 7 facts about yourself. What inspires you and make your creativity tick.

Third and the last thing write or talk about bloggers to boost their blogs and to pass on the love.

7 Things that Inspire Me and Facts

My biggest source of inspiration might sound strange to you guys, but it’s not a person, it’s a place. Marine Drive has always remained at the core of my heart and I actually wrote one blog about it on my IndiaDestinationsBlog mentioning how close this place is to my heart. I used to visit this C-shaped boulevard with my mother. After her death, I used to visit this place alone. Cry here for hours staring the humongous Arabian Sea ahead, but it was here that I wrote my first poem. Funny to say, but whenever I visit Marine Drive in stress, I’ve gone back with positive answers.

Sarah, my wife is the next on my list. I guess more than a couple, we are friends. Individually, we might be imperfect, but together we are just perfect for each other. We’ve faced some great life challenges together and to be together and that makes us stronger. We talk and discuss about almost everything without hesitating. She is probably the ONLY ONE who knows me as me and probably understands me more than I do about myself.

Nature is the third thing that inspires me to write more. This is one of the reasons why I decided to move out from the Mumbai city that leaves no room for nature. I love to admire the huge mountains and listen to the flow of water down the river. I love to see those shadows of clouds of mountains and the thundering rain, frogs croaking, birds whistling and leaves rustling. I believe no technology can give that kind of luxury.

Mumbai city is where I was born and brought up. I have seen this city and have been an integral part of it. It’s like my second mother and has been close to my heart. I love the spirit of locals here who do not stop at anything. It’s a race against the time where 24 hours just pass by in a blink. It might not be as developed as New York or London, but it has its own lifestyle where people are left behind, if they take a breather.

Communication is at the core of human lifestyle and we all love to talk to each other, express our views and share and like things. I am no different, but the only thing is I don’t prefer to say it aloud. I prefer to write instead and share things and communicate my heart out.

Travel inspires me in its own small ways. I love to meet new people, go places where I’ve never been and see things that I don’t know exist. It gives me the opportunity to widen the horizon of my knowledge and what I really know. I prefer places that are least visited because that’s where you find untouched nature and the real essence of people.

Knowledge is also one of the factors that inspire me to write more. If I am attracted by something, I want to know almost everything about it. I guess the Knowledge is Power phrase has stayed with me since my school days and I love to read on so many different things from animals, insects, technology, science and religion and even classic novel writers and so on.

Apart from all the 7 inspirational factors above, I also get inspired by bloggers and writers that I follow regularly. Sometimes I am busy with my own writing projects, but whenever I have time I read these blogs that help me keep my sanity, creativity and above all inspire me to write more.

Here are my nominees:

Daniel Antion

http://nofacilities.com/

I met Dan in a private group and I am lucky that I did. I am always inspired about the way he writes and the way he infuses humor into the content that I cannot. I am quite straight-forward and simple in terms of how I put my content. It was only after reading many blogs of Dan I decided that I should step out of the travel blog zone and write on different things like him. He writes about his experiences while he is traveling for work or when is going through some experiences that intrigue him.

Cheryl Pennington

http://tropicalaffair.me/

If you love poems, read Cheryl’s poems and you’ll see what I am talking about. She also writes stories, but more than that I love her pictures and poems. I love photography and I believe she is leagues ahead of me in terms of poetry and photography both. She also does art work for books and she has done it so well. I can only ask of getting 10% of the talent of what she does in terms of photography and poems.

Paul Ruddock

http://echoesofthepen.com/

I certainly look up to Paul when it comes to humor and short stories. He is a master at it and I believe his stories can give you the right dose of comedy when you are unhappy with what life just offered you. He also writes book reviews and gladly he does not put his personal bias in it, nor does he give away any spoilers which is good. He is my Master of Comedy.

Damyanti Biswas

http://damyantiwrites.wordpress.com

First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Damyanti that she allowed me to be a part of a blog group where I found new friends. Damyanti writes about creative writing and about various workshops and travel and different things that cross her mind. She has a different perspective which I admire and I have so much to learn from her. She might not even notice this, but every time I read her article I improve my vocabulary. I find a new word that I can now put to use. Her writings inspire me in small ways that make a big difference to what I write.

Peter Nena

http://drkillpatient01.wordpress.com/

He is my very personal Stephen King and I am not saying this because I know him or just flattering around. You’ve got to read his horror short stories to understand why I say that. I’ve read Stephen King and many other horror writers from the UK, but they didn’t impress me much. With Peter things are different; he gradually sucks you into the world of darkness and presents horror in a situation that seems so real and scary. If you love horror short stories I would recommend you to read some of his stories.

Lauren Mokasdar

http://englishwifeindianlife.com/

Lauren hails from the UK, but now she resides in the same state that I do, Maharashtra. Although, she is miles away, I stay connected with her through her blogs that share about her experiences in India after she got married to an Indian. Simple, straight-forward and intriguing, her blogs not just reflect the mentality of people around her, but also how she has coped and survived to stay in an environment which is completely alien to her. Living in the “Orange City – Nagpur” she has now transformed herself to Indian conditions. If anybody internationally wants to know how it feels like living in India you should read some of her early blogs, they are absolutely true to the core.

Shraddha Bhatia

http://shradhabhatia.com/

I agree that I might not Shraddha much, but her blogs inspire me and relax my nerves. Well, when I read her About Me page, I was simply blown away. Her English is impeccable and every time I read her articles, I only wish my English moves up to that scale. She writes about her experiences and about lifestyle, style and fashion and even some travel that she does.