Skip to main content

A few blogs that caught my attention


Reviewing another person’s writing is not an easy job especially in a society that promotes the mutual back-scratching policy.  That’s perhaps the reason why the latest Indispire theme [#BlogReview] has not got any takers so far with a singular exception (until this post is being written). I wonder why the theme got the most votes if Indibloggers didn’t want to review blogs.  The answer may lie in the writer’s subconscious longing for adulation from others.  Every writer is a thoroughgoing egoist as George Orwell said.  I’m no exception. However, I have to write this since I’m the one who suggested the Indispire theme.  If I let down my own suggestion, I wouldn’t be egoistic enough to be a writer!

Rajesh Prabhu’s blog carries the charm of India through delightful photographs.  What’s best about the blog is that it is diametrically opposed to mine: it is full of beauty and optimism, elegance and grace.  Rajesh helps me bounce back from the cynicism that overtakes me against my will.  He adds necessary description to the pictures too.

Some of the best photo blogs are:
Magic Eye
Indrani Ghose’s Isharethese
Rupam Sharma’s blog

Vinay Nagaraju does with words what Rajesh does with pics.  His inspiring blog is a well-deserved cynosure at Indiblogger because of the sprightliness it carries unfailingly.

Similarly inspiring bloggers:
Kishor Kumar
Sreedhar Bhattaram’s Reflections on Life are sustained by maturity of vision and experience. 

 Vish’s Wisdom Times: Very practical and useful tips on happy living.  The blog site also provides a free e-book of such tips and counsels.

Shweta’s Sunshine and Zephyr lives up to what the title promises.  It’s the sunshine of passions and the zephyr of sensitivity that she carries. 

For books and authors:

Shreesha Divakaran’s Rain and a Book

Archana Singh: the only problem with this blog is that it bombards you with pop-ups.


The best of poetry:

Amit Agarwal’s crisp poems.  I’m sorry that my knowledge of Hindi is insufficient to appreciate the depth of his terse verse.  But he hits the bull’s eye.  Minimum words, maximum effect.

Saru Singhal’s Words.  Saru possesses a unique skill with words.  Her poems carry the elegance of rhythm and the poignancy of drama.

Maniparna Sengupta’s Scattered Thoughts


Two versatile bloggers who are notable for their commitment to blogging:

Shrinidhi Hande is a voluminous blogger who deals mainly with vehicles and travel.

Leena Walawalkar’s Blah-blah which is much more than what it claims to be. It deals with everything from the movies to festivals, politics to travel, and anything under the sun.

Let me also welcome back Kokila Gupta with her haikus and other verses of sunshine and blue clouds.

And there’s one whom I miss these days.  Hope she will be back soon.  And that’s Roohi Bhatnagar who was a source of inspiration for me in more ways than she might understand.

This is by no means an exhaustive list.  It is impossible to make any such list.  Every selection like this is determined by various factors some of which are related to personal likes. 



Comments

  1. SUJATA TAWDEDecember 6, 2015 at 12:06 PM

    Good Morning. Fantastic. Most of the blogs , you have reviewed are my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownDecember 6, 2015 at 12:23 PM

    That's a really good list to look upon Mr. Matheikal :) I too follow, most among the listed ones, there are a few left and am going to have a look in their zone of blogging. We connect so much on the selective reading part and I am glad to know that. It's hard to find people falling into almost similar taste. Thanks a lot for the prep. :)
    http://www.crimsonapril.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amit AgarwalDecember 6, 2015 at 1:31 PM

    I feel honoured to be in your esteemed list, Tom sir:) Thank you:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kokila guptaDecember 6, 2015 at 4:21 PM

    So humbled Sir to be in your list !! Thank you in Tons for the mention as well as the Welcome :) It IS wonderful to be back :) :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. sunaina sharmaDecember 6, 2015 at 5:42 PM

    Even I was taken aback by the absence of any posts until yesterday. But I thought people were working on their posts and that it takes time to review a blog. In my own view, to review a blog requires much concentration and since I had been busy for the past three days, I was unable to post anything for the prompt. The way you have put up the list of blogs that you have admired is good though, as you have been able to highlight your likes for the specific blog. I guess I will attempt it on similar lines. You have mentioned many bloggers that I like too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownDecember 6, 2015 at 6:02 PM

    Thank you so much sir...I feel really nice and humbled to be a part of the list... Also motivated to do better :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Roohi BhatnagarDecember 6, 2015 at 9:06 PM

    Though it is you who is a source of inspiration to me, still thank you for including me in the list. I am not sure if I really deserve this place among all these wonderful bloggers whom I too admire. Regarding my absence, umm can't say much right now except that I am going through an important phase in this life once again which is keeping me in a kind of trance. Hope to bounce back again soon with renewed energy and vigor. Till then I am trying to keep my blog alive through contests and assignments! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ravi SinghDecember 6, 2015 at 10:09 PM

    Good collections sir..

    ReplyDelete
  9. ManiparnaDecember 7, 2015 at 1:36 AM

    I follow all the other bloggers you've mentioned here, and they are wonderful in every way. Glad to find myself in the list....honoured and humbled...
    Thank you so much.. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kishor KDecember 7, 2015 at 10:16 AM

    Thank you for the post and listing a good collection of blog. I have been following mos of them, all are brilliant and informative. Also, thanks for including my blog there.

    ReplyDelete
  11. EJDecember 7, 2015 at 12:40 PM

    I realized I am not following any of these bloggers in this list. So have added them to my feed list :) Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  12. EJDecember 7, 2015 at 12:43 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Datta GhoshDecember 7, 2015 at 2:18 PM

    That is a thorough list and most of them are my favorites too. A great list of favorites :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. IndraniDecember 7, 2015 at 5:51 PM

    Wow! I find myself here!
    A great honor from you Sir!
    Thank you very much! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sreedhar BhattaramDecember 7, 2015 at 7:33 PM

    Thanks Matheikal for honoring me by appreciating my Blog as inspiring.. I love the good Comment!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Saru SinghalDecember 7, 2015 at 8:56 PM

    You are right about the mutual admiration society. I wrote about it twice, sadly without any effect. I read majority of blogs you've mentioned here. And, I agree with your observation. Thank you so much for the mention, coming from you it means a lot Sir.

    ReplyDelete
  17. UnknownDecember 8, 2015 at 4:36 AM

    I like your intro, blunt and straightforward as always :)
    If I find myself mentioned by a writer such as yourself, it just gives me the confidence that I must be doing something right!
    Truly honoured Sir.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Shrinidhi HandeDecember 8, 2015 at 10:21 AM

    Thanks for the mention...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anita SabatDecember 8, 2015 at 11:57 AM

    Have been through many of these Blogs & appreciate their effort. Yet to visit some in your list :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. LsDecember 8, 2015 at 8:42 PM

    Thanks for the list. Some of them I already follow. Others, I will check out.

    ReplyDelete
  21. UnknownDecember 9, 2015 at 3:42 PM

    Thank you so much for including Rain and a Book :) I am honored!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Linda RoseMarch 30, 2016 at 7:37 AM

    This article is really fantastic and thanks for sharing the valuable post.
    Trollface Quest 2|Dr Driving|Square Quick

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pranita a perverted genius

Bulldozer begins its work at Sawan Pranita was a perverted genius. She had Machiavelli’s brain, Octavian’s relentlessness, and Levin’s intellectual calibre. She could have worked wonders if she wanted. She could have created a beautiful world around her. She had the potential. Yet she chose to be a ruthless exterminator. She came to Sawan Public School just to kill it. A religious cult called Radha Soami Satsang Beas [RSSB] had taken over the school from its owner who had never visited the school for over 20 years. This owner, a prominent entrepreneur with a gargantuan ego, had come to the conclusion that the morality of the school’s staff was deviating from the wavelengths determined by him. Moreover, his one foot was inching towards the grave. I was also told that there were some domestic noises which were grating against his patriarchal sensibilities. One holy solution for all these was to hand over the school and its enormous campus (nearly 20 acres of land on the outskirts
9 comments
Read more

Machiavelli the Reverend

Let us go today , you and I, through certain miasmic streets. Nothing will be quite clear along our way because this journey is through some delusions and illusions. You will meet people wearing holy robes and talking about morality and virtues. Some of them will claim to be god’s men and some will make taller claims. Some of them are just amorphous. Invisible. But omnipotent. You can feel their power around you. On you. Oppressing you. Stifling you. Reverend Machiavelli is one such oppressive power. You will meet Franz Kafka somewhere along the way. Joseph K’s ghost will pass by. Remember Joseph K who was arrested one fine morning for a crime that nobody knew anything about? Neither Joseph nor the men who arrest him know why Joseph K is arrested. The power that keeps Joseph K under arrest is invisible. He cannot get answers to his valid questions from the visible agents of that power. He cannot explain himself to that power. Finally, he is taken to a quarry outside the town wher
19 comments
Read more

Levin the good shepherd

AI-generated image The lost sheep and its redeemer form a pet motif in Christianity. Jesus portrayed himself as a good shepherd many times. He said that the good shepherd will leave his 99 sheep in order to bring the lost sheep back to the fold. When he finds the lost sheep, the shepherd is happier about that one sheep than about the 99, Jesus claimed. He was speaking metaphorically. The lost sheep is the sinner in Jesus’ parable. Sin is a departure from the ‘right’ way. Angels raise a toast in heaven whenever a sinner returns to the ‘right’ path [Luke 15:10]. A lot of Catholic priests I know carry some sort of a Redeemer complex in their souls. They love the sinner so much that they cannot rest until they make the angels of God run for their cups of joy. I have also been fortunate to have one such priest-friend whom I shall call Levin in this post. He has befriended me right from the year 1976 when I was a blundering adolescent and he was just one year older than me. He possesse
8 comments
Read more

Kailasnath the Paradox

AI-generated illustration It wasn’t easy to discern whether he was a friend or merely an amused onlooker. He was my colleague at the college, though from another department. When my life had entered a slippery slope because of certain unresolved psychological problems, he didn’t choose to shun me as most others did. However, when he did condescend to join me in the college canteen sipping tea and smoking a cigarette, I wasn’t ever sure whether he was befriending me or mocking me. Kailasnath was a bundle of paradoxes. He appeared to be an alpha male, so self-assured and lord of all that he surveyed. Yet if you cared to observe deeply, you would find too many chinks in his armour. Beneath all those domineering words and gestures lay ample signs of frailty. The tall, elegantly slim and precisely erect stature would draw anyone’s attention quickly. Kailasnath was always attractively dressed though never unduly stylish. Everything about him exuded an air of chic confidence. But the wa
9 comments
Read more

Nakulan the Outcast

Nakulan was one of the many tenants of Hevendrea . A professor in the botany department of the North Eastern Hill University, he was a very lovable person. Some sense of inferiority complex that came from his caste status made him scoff the very idea of his lovability. He lived with his wife and three children in one of Heavendrea’s many cottages. When he wanted to have a drink, he would walk over to my hut. We sipped our whiskies and discussed Shillong’s intriguing politics or something of the sort while my cassette player crooned gently in the background. Nakulan was more than ten years my senior by age. He taught a subject which had never aroused my interest at any stage of my life. It made no difference to me whether a leaf was pinnately compound or palmately compound. You don’t need to know about anther and stigma in order to understand a flower. My friend Levin would have ascribed my lack of interest in Nakulan’s subject to my egomania. I always thought that Nakulan lived
16 comments
Read more