Sunday, August 10, 2014

The day I launched my blog

Some time in August the 3Cs completes six years. I can’t recall the date. I was a few years younger and wiser and saner. But I remember it was in 2009 that I decided to launch Chess, Comics and Crosswords with fanfare and fireworks. It was a memorable day. Someday I will tell my grandchildren about it. You tell yours.

It was a gay and festive evening. Throngs of people gathered at the seaside venue, standing on their toes and pushing and jostling each other for a glimpse of the rare event the like of which they would never witness again. Not in their lifetime, not in this century. The mayor was going to cut the ribbon and give a speech on the creative hazards of blogging. Somewhere a band played Here Comes the Blog to the music of Wedding March. The air was rent with cries and laughter. The sky lit up with pyrotechnics, confetti, and colourful balloons. Young boys and girls went around with trays of food and drinks, and distributed little flags with 3Cs embossed in red and gold. They were sold at a discount by the sponsor. This was greeted with loud cheers which soon turned to loud jeers. There was no sign of the mayor.

As time passed the crowds grew restless and they rushed forward, pushing against the ropes that held them back. The few skinny khaki-clad home guards who were manning the ropes with their little bamboo sticks couldn’t hold them back. They dropped the ropes and their sticks and ran for their lives. I took cover behind one of the giant speakers just in time as two empty coke cans and a food tray whizzed past my head.

The situation became tense and there was pandemonium. The police had to use water cannons to disperse the crowds which made them even more angry as they were already drenched from the rain. There was much cursing and gnashing of teeth. Riot police stood nearby. They wore helmets and bulletproof jackets and carried batons and shields. They looked like they meant business. They were itching to smash a few heads and break a few bones. I prayed it wouldn
t be mine.

At one point, the situation looked so alarming that an aide to the mayor who huddled next to me wondered if it wouldn’t be wise to call off the launch. He was worried about the political fallout for the mayor who was running for the chief minister’s office. I looked at him grimly and said no. I had consulted an astrologer who had assured me the day and time was just right. God knows when the next auspicious moment would come.

A police inspector crawled up to us and said the mayor’s convoy had come under attack on the road leading to the venue and there was no way he was going to make it to the launch alive. He was whisked off to a safe place, into the basement of a hospital on the corner, where he was cowering behind a car and refusing to move out even under police escort.

As I peered over the speaker, something came flying out of the air and smacked me in the face and knocked me out cold. When I came to I found myself alone in the dark and on the floor next to my computer. I looked up at the screen and read “Welcome to Chess, Comics & Crosswords!” I must have dozed off and fallen off the chair. I pulled myself up and reached for the cup of tea. It was cold. I logged off and dropped my head on the keyboard. My first post could wait.

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Thank you everyone for all your support and encouragement through my blog years!

27 comments:

  1. Wonderful launch story Prashant! I will remember your vivid memory of the beginning of your blog as it might have been but for fate and reality.

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    1. Bill, thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had such great plans for the launch. Alas, it was not meant to be.

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  2. Congratulations. I started my blog July 7, 2009. Oddly I am vague on my wedding anniversary or the birthdays of my three daughters but this date I always recall. I hope you keep blogging for a very long time.,

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    1. Mel, thank you. Fortunately, I remember the other dates—you can't afford to forget those, can you?! Your own blog, The Reading Life, has been an inspiration. I don't think I have read another blog that is exclusively devoted and dedicated to short stories every single day. All the best to you too, Mel.

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  3. Congratulations. Many more blogging years ahead for you.

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    1. Mystica, thank you. I wish you the same. It has been a pleasure knowing you through your excellent book blog.

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  4. That is a wonderful story, Prashant. I look forward to being blogging friends for years to come.

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    1. Tracy, thank you. I'm happy you liked it. I typed it out while we were watching a series of episodes of BECKER, one of my favourite sitcoms. I share your sentiment about being blogging friends for many years. Getting acquainted with you and our fellow bloggers has been the biggest achievement of 3Cs.

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  5. Well done Prashant, but more importantly what happened to the mayor, we need to be told?

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    1. Col, thank you. As far as I remember, the mayor quit politics and disappeared after a video showing him hiding in the parking lot went viral on the internet. In one grab he was seen resisting police efforts to take him away.

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  6. I would love to tell my grandchildren, but I will *never* have any! Congratulations on your long-lived blog all the same. Every now and then you surprise me with your quirky sense of humor. You keep that under wraps most of the time. This made me laugh. Great way to start the day!

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    1. John, thank you. I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I'd fun typing it out. Maybe, Becker's wry humour had something to do with it. I was watching the sitcom at the time. I love humour in books and films. My father used to tell me that if at all I read novels and watched movies, to make sure they were always funny. He didn't like horror and violence. Wise advice. I do both though I'm very partial to the comic stuff.

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  7. Love this! So clever, but I shouldn't be surprised.

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    1. Kelly, thank you. It's very nice of you to say that and I appreciate it.

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  8. Great story, Prashant! You had me going there. :) And congratulations to you.

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    1. Thank you, Elizabeth. Frankly, I didn't know where I was going for more I thought of it, more I realised I wasn't going anywhere. It was good fun, though.

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  9. Congratulations on your anniversary, and thanks for making me laugh out loud, that was a great post. This is just a casual question but - where are the chess and the crosswords? Is there another important story to be told there? Were they stolen by the rioting vandals? Look forward to reading your entries for many more years to come.

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    1. Moira, thank you. That's very nice! I'm relieved that all my blog friends liked it. I'd broken out in a sweat before all the swell comments started rolling in.

      Chess, comics and crosswords are three of my favourite pursuits which is why they make up my blog address. I liked the sound of it and wanted my URL to be different. However, it has proved to be misleading as it doesn't convey the main theme of my blog—books and films. In the initial days I used to write about chess and crosswords and then I read a few articles on why it was important to focus on just one or two areas in a blog, especially if you were keen to have visitors. So I deleted several posts which, on hindsight, seemed meaningless. I still occasionally write about comics and music although I haven't written about them in several months. You might say I have vandalised my own blog!

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  10. This is most entertaining. Such fanfare is warranted. Congratulations!

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    1. Patti, thank you. I'm so delighted that you liked it. Your own short stories, many of which I have read, have been an inspiration.

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  11. Well done Prashant and heartiest congratulations

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    1. Cheers, Sergio, and thank you very much. It was just one of those things I like to dabble in.

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  12. Congrats on your anniversary..... I only wish my blog launched to such fanfare.

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    1. Ryan, thank you very much. Every year I resolve to review more books than I do, the primary aim of this blog, only to promptly forget. Reviews are fun but tedious.

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  13. Gee, mine was launched with a picture of one of my cats. No confetti, balloons or gnashing of teeth. That was August 28, 2009. So my blog is about a year younger than yours, it seems. I enjoyed the story, thanks, very funny.

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