Review on The Telegraph

Saluting the new-age Indian

- Suchi Arya

For someone who loves to write there could be no better gift than a blog. I started blogging a day before my political science test in college. No, it was not a trend that I was following, but just that studying the Indian Constitution could get depressing after a while. And to think of it, I wasn’t particularly fond of the professor either. I was wandering aimlessly on the information superhighway when a Google search landed me to someone’s blog, and a rather interesting one. I loved the idea of having your own web address and being a part of the “blogger’s community”. It excited me and I started blogging. Blogging is the simplest and the most economic way of expressing yourself and reaching to thousands of bloggers across the globe. The thought that somebody sitting in the United States, Iraq or even Pakistan could be reading my blog and reacting to it thrilled me and I was caught in the net. This is a feeling that almost every blogger experiences. And today, with hosts like blogger.com introducing new drag-and-drop features, blogging is the simplest thing one can do. An interesting blog I came across recently is Shayon’s Labyrinth (http://my-labyrinth.blogspot.com ). Shayon, who is studying electrical engineering at the National Institute of Technology in Jamshedpur, says that he always had a knack of writing but could never find a proper platform to publish his work, till he became a blogger. One of the recent posts on his blog recaps the year gone by and ends on a rather positive note. “The year 2006 has been hailed as the year of the citizens, not only here in India but also all over the world. The TIME, put a mirror on its cover and awarded the person of the year to ‘you’ — the common man — who has risen above the stature of an unknown entity.” I couldn’t help but agree. Isn’t the new age Indian sharper, stronger and sensitive to what’s happening around him. And for them it is not only about making a point. It is not tall talk. It is not sitting in your drawing room and passing words of wisdom and criticising almost everything placed before you. It is reaction followed by action. And today, blogs are where all the action is. Shayon’s blog further reads: “For a nation that has idols in the film industry, movies lead the way. From Rang de Basanti we got an insight into the peace movement while Lage Raho Munnabhai revived the Gandhian culture. A nation which has been divided over many issues came together to fight for justice for Jessica Lal and Priydarshini Mattoo. The youth stood for equality, no matter what the cause, and I believe that the GeneratioNext would always stand up for their rights.” In fact, the online protests came to the forefront from the time the quota system was announced. Bloggers from across the country formed communities to discuss their next course of action. Protests gave way to an online petition. Recently the racist slur on reality show Big brother saw an online reaction, too, which drew support from South East Asians across the world. Blogs and online communities have become a lifeline for those who need a medium to express themselves. Today, there is a majority, which would like to share their thoughts on a movie, a cricket match, a website or even a government policy and make their votes counted. Their web address allows them to interact with the world, at large. What also gives an important position to blogs on the world wide web is the number of hits they receive. When you run a search on a news item you wish to read online, alongside the various news sites you get, would be a number of blogs as well. That not only shows its presence on the Internet, but also its importance. Shayon’s blog further reads: “For a common man in India, life is no bed of roses, but today he is ready to fight for the roses that don’t come his way. India is finally waking up from a state of slumber that Independence put her into. Our country is finally coming of age. Hail the new India and hail the new Indian!” There seems to be a new-found respect for oneself and for the country. It seems that today, swadeshi is the way to be.

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