Dots And Streaks Journey : Ellora Mishra

Young was still the dream

Almost in its infancy 

When she started to scribble 

Disarray of the lines

Weaving tales of words in her mind

When she started to scribble

A story declined, a story published

A child’s fantasy afterall is meant to perish

But then scribble she still did

To escape the cacophony sometimes

Or so the haunt of the silences

Capturing the musings of life

Be it joy, be it sorrow 

Or just a life’s ploy

When she started to scribble 

Anonymous to her other self

A soul known just to her words

An escape to that safe haven

When she started to scribble 

But, for the dream

A dream in hibernation that lived 

Young as ever even without any nourish 

The dream that was conceived 

To bear the writer’s epithet 

When she had started to scribble.

A short poem that I had written on my writing journey on my blog that sums it all up ☺

My inclination for writing started when I was 9 yrs old and there was this story taught in our English class in which a little girl used to maintain a diary of daily happenings in life. I was so impressed with that concept that I started maintaining a journal. Every night I would religiously note down my entire day in it. I don’t remember anyone having read my journal ever and that secrecy somehow had made it all the more special to me.

But as expected, that habit did take a beating with academics pressure and otherwise. I also remember as a child seeing the names of the writer’s below each narrative in Tinkle Digest and fantasizing my name there…..and that rejection letter that I had received signed by uncle Pai for my submission.

I had stopped writing in my diary and in my stories journal. It was only in 8th standard when there was a competition in school for story writing in which the entire class had to participate and my story got selected to be published in Young World Publication of Hindu Newspaper. That was the first-ever time I actually saw my name below a published story. But again, hailing from a family that encouraged academics over such hobbies I lost track of writing again.

My next engagement with my passion was only after I started working. That’s when I started my blog. For some reasons I loved penning down my musings on my blog under my pen name and loved keeping it unknown and anonymous to everyone around. Maybe because that’s how I thought I can escape to that secret haven of mine whenever I yearned or maybe because I wanted to keep that other self of mine a separate identity.

Writing has always come to me in bouts filled with many a long hiatus in between, more like when my inner soul called for it I had yielded. As I could never be consistent on my blog nor did I ever explore the blogosphere avenues. A major part of the reason I can attribute is to my corporate job and my academic ambitions and a small part of it to my complacency for not exploring my passion. Even though I personally had no monetary milestones in mind but I guess I did fall prey to the popular belief that value can only be attached to what yields monetary benefit and hobbies may not necessarily do so, therefore, pursuing them always took a back step. Anyways I personally believe that money-making is the work of mind but passion is always pursued from heart although yes the heart’s calling does get muffled most of the times!

But then as life is something that cannot be harnessed contrary to one’s belief! A day came for me when I felt as if the balance of loss vs gain has started tilting more towards the former in running that corporate race. When the losses started to overweigh and stare me in my face one fine day I decided to drop it all. I quit the corporate job and joined my spouse on one of his abroad assignments and that’s when I rekindled my passion and decided to give it all and start from the start again :)!

That’s when Blogchatter A2Z happened or should I say the universe conspired! I having been a stickler all my life for meticulous planning but for once I decided to go with the flow and so I did. I embraced the moment and jumped into the wagon which was like a roller coaster ride accompanied with cheers from the co-participants all along and before I knew it I opened my eyes to the e-book carnival plunge :)! And it’s been one enjoyable and enriching ride so far. I hope I carry forward this encouragement in pursuing my maiden endeavor and explore the realms of the creative world of writing further to all its lengths and depths.