Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Gulp!
· 
You know how it is when the doorbell rings on a Saturday morning, and the cute guy who moved in next door has stopped by to borrow the Yellow Pages, except that you are in your frumpiest nightgown and your face is covered in a mix of besan + haldi (like an unfried soggy pakora), precise proportions of which have been drilled into your head by a concerned mother over various international phone calls? This is exactly like that.
‘A walk in the clouds..’ got nominated for Best Design at the IndiBloggies this year. Yay! (Saying which she scurries off to fix all the nagging XHTML and CSS validation errors before people notice them.) It has now been established that this blog is the official bimbette of the desi blogosphere. People visit it for its looks, not for what it has to say. Tsk tsk.
Of course this nomination comes at a time when I am barely blogging, forget irregularly blogging. So perhaps there is some sense in the whole nominate-for-looks-and-not-for-content funda. Of course, they could have run this award thingamajig when I was at the peak of my blogging stardom (?), when I was signing autographs with one hand (!) and waving to the masses all diva-like with the other (?!). But noooo. They go do it *now*. Now, when I have very little to say, my readers have given up on me, and I have nothing to bribe them back with. Bah.
As a solace, a cool little thing has happened. blogchaat, another blog that I designed, also got nominated. (For design too! Bimbettes of the world unite!) So major cheap thrills at being up against myself! The multiple persona thingy seems to have finally paid off.
So please head over to the polling page, and stuff the ballots generously. I am supposed to do the gracious thing and ask you to vote for whoever you think is most deserving, but grace and I haven’t been on talking terms for years now. So vote for me. Me me me! Meghalomania. Did I mention me? (Polls close on the 20th of February.)
(Just in case I was too subtle before.)
If I say that I’ll post more often in return for your vote, you’ll just laugh in my face. But honestly, you have my heartfelt gratitude for your continued faith. Whoever nominated me, I appreciate the thought and support very much. In the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it world of blogging, a gesture like that is a big deal. Thank you, in all seriousness. Now pliss vote.
Ahem… I recall it was you who advised me that lower-case was best, and it was thereby christened “blogchaat”. That’s right, all lower case. Not “Blogchaat”, not “blogChaat”, not “BlogChaat”, but “blogchaat” (I believe this is what is known as “being anal”, but whatever :P). How can the designer herself make free with the name like that?!?! It’s all about brand identity!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 1:14 AM
As an appreciation to your genuine “humility” and “humbleness” in this post, I have decided to vote for the bimbette 5 times (one for each “me”). Now the worry is about upsetting the other bimbette. Bah! too much pressure this is!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 1:49 AM
Oh my goodness! Blogchaat was designed by you?! That’s pretty good! You have some real talent there lady. [Claps Claps]. And i was thinking you are just a big mouth.
You a professional web designer?
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 2:00 AM
Scene from Bobby, of course.
( I also deplore this Asha like same person getting nominated for different sites.)
( Why couldn’t I get nominated ?)
( I mean, they SAID last year comments would count!)
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 8:33 AM
besan + haldi (like an unfried soggy pakora)
Or like an unfried bhujjiya (or bajji as we call it down in the peninsular parts of India).
If I say that I’ll post more often in return for your vote, you’ll just laugh in my face.
I am laughing so hard even thinking that you could dare think of saying such things.
Now pliss vote.
Done already, days ago in fact :P
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 10:35 AM
[witnwisdumb] Oh yes, I did that, didn’t I? Um, blame it on a designer’s poor memory. We’re not known for it anyway. Have fixed it in the post, so now people won’t have a clue what you were complaining about in the first place. Heh heh :D
[gvenum] ‘Humility’ bhi aur ‘humbleness’ bhi? Bhai wah! One of these days I shall start a charity drive to buy you a thesaurus. But thankoo times five. The next time you hear a knock on your door it is likely to be the election commission. Beware.
[Manoj] Thankoo thankoo. And excuse me? Are you suggesting that I am no longer a big mouth just cos I designed a website? Why can’t I be a good designer AND a big mouth, I say!
[Fleshback] Is this who I think it is? Scene from Bobby? Asha like same person? Elaborate more?
[anantha] Yes yes, bajji, pakora .. same basic family of products. You know when you put a bajji into oil that is not hot enough, it just sits there floating and soaking up oil but never really gets fried? Like that. And hah, I didn’t say it, did I? I said a big IF. So there. And thankoo :)
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 11:52 AM
I really hate women who make me laugh. It’s like they are pushing me out of my own control.
… did i say that i hate you?
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 12:24 PM
Ok..
“I have nothing to bribe them back with.”
Yes. You. Do. Now, I’ll expect that new Nintendo Wii in my mail. Meanwhile, I shall go about fixing the polls, doing my best to rig it. :D
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 12:59 PM
I voted. Now, you better win and make my vote look good or else I am never gonna vote again.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 1:02 PM
Peoples - please to not see my promptness of replies as an attempt to suck up to my readers for vote-garnering. This is just a fountain of genuine love and affection for my readers that is overflowing into a river of eagerness to communicate with you. No really. See. Straight face and all.
[Manoj] Aww, now that just warmed the cockles of my heart. Am most pleased that my plans of world domination are so effortlessly falling into place. *smug satisfied look*
[Sriram] Oh shoor shoor! I’ll buy it for you with the money that I’ll make via the celebrity endorsements I’ll do, if I win. So its all very nice and cyclic, as you can see. And thankoo :)
[Paddy] Thankoo muchly. I shall strive to make your fingers inky black for years to come.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 1:14 PM
Now, I don’t need any bribes, but let’s see if this nomination is really worth it. Let me see you do your magic with the get_category() tag in WP 2.1!
And I am waiting…
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 1:21 PM
Mm. So you’ll be replying to all comments then, no matter how inane?
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 2:42 PM
Her speed of response continues to rival Chacha Chaudhary’s dimaag.
[anantha] Oh goodie! Haven’t upgraded yet so don’t know about Ella’s quirks. What’s the deal with get_category() ? What keeda is it doing? I wanna go mess with it, so tell tell.
[Zz] Yes. QED.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 2:48 PM
Nah, don’t worry. It just seems quirky. Did not work yesterday and today I tried, it worked. But will send email about something else that you might have to do.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 5:39 PM
one is baffled, flabbergasted, and did one mention, surprised too?
o great cloudy one, now you’re acting like a true politician(ever thought of foraying into paali-tricks)
inspite of all these emotions, one is of course going to go vote. ah, the yeakness of lowe and affection..
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 6:04 PM
Congrats!!! Nice to hear that…
One of these days I am going to bug you no end to get help in designing a nice template for my blog. And as a ghoos (sorry if the spelling is wrong, its a hindi word meaning bribe, not a large rodent in marathi) I am going to vote for you.
Is this supposed to be a secret ballot?
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 7:32 PM
:) voted!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 @ 11:13 PM
2 Theories: Either Chaachi Choudhari’s dimaag had some OS problems, or she won the award already.
In first case, get well soon, and in second case, congrats!!! ;)
Thursday, February 15, 2007 @ 10:29 PM
But you already won last year??
Shouldn’t your blog be placed in the design hall of fame and not nominated anymore like filmfare did with Lata Mangeshkar in the 90s??
Neways, good luck. Will vote for you, of course, if you choose to be in the running. :)
Thursday, February 15, 2007 @ 10:54 PM
Ive never commented before, but ive read ure blog for ages. Please keep writing! You’re very good! very good indeed. *nods vigorously*
Friday, February 16, 2007 @ 4:30 AM
Promises, promises!
That’s all you give us :(
The only reason for the new post is the vote. But try as we might, we can’t escape. You know we are like putty in your hands, and you have used your “feminine” charms on us. So we have no option but to vote for you. Again and again and again and ……….
Friday, February 16, 2007 @ 8:56 AM
[anantha] I guess, like you said, your template promptly behaved itself when faced with the prospect of my tinkering with it :) I got the wp_list_bookmarks() function working with all my customizations, by the way. Thankoo for pointing me to it!
[twinky] I thought you knew by now about the NTR jaatakam that I was born with. This is just a natural extension of that. But thankoo. *sniffle* Your genoo-whine luvv-u and affection-u brings tears to me eyes-u.
[Fleiger] Uff, Chachi Chaudhary was taking a break from canvassing and trying to actual earn a living, for a change. Now her dimaag’s OS is back, running at warp speed. And yes, a vote is definitely preferred over a large rodent, thankyouverrymuj. And nah, not much of a secret ballot. From what I know, junta is pretty forthcoming in these matters. And thankoo :)
[serendipity] Yay! Thankoo :)
[Raj] Ahem. Design hall of fame sounds all highfalutin and fancy. I wouldn’t mind that at all ;) The organizers have decided to repeat nominations, so I guess I am in the running this time too. So yesh, pliss vote. And thankoo in advance! :)
[anika] Yayyy! A long time reader! Welcome welcome! And thank you for the kind words. Very glad you decided to drop in a comment this time, and hope you will do it more often! :)
[amol] But this time I didn’t even promise! I was being all honest and all! You see I no longer care about material things like blog posts. I have reached a higher Zen place - where there is just me and a lot of votes pouring in from all directions. And be careful when you imply that I am turning up my feminine charms and wiles. A certain feathered friend might be listening :)
Friday, February 16, 2007 @ 1:33 PM
So you upgraded too? Btw, I am still having IE issues! Pliss to shed some gyan!
Friday, February 16, 2007 @ 3:21 PM
[anantha] Yesh, upgraded, but on a test site that I run. Didn’t want to mess with Meghalomania right in the middle of an election campaign ;) Haven’t run into any IE issues yet though. What’s not working for you?
Friday, February 16, 2007 @ 4:39 PM
mail is coming!
Friday, February 16, 2007 @ 5:31 PM
A person canvassing for votes and trying to earn a living too? Yeh baat kuch hajam nahi hui
Ok, then let’s get to bargaining. We vote for you when you post your next post… and no canvassing or one-liners allowed… I guess many readers will agree with me here ;)
Friday, February 16, 2007 @ 6:23 PM
6 votes so far from my end. Is that enough voting or should we keep voting?
Saturday, February 17, 2007 @ 11:47 AM
If you doan know me by now …
And Bobby of course for the face in besan haldi scene.
Asha for getting nominated for phillumfare awards in same category more than once for diff songs. Unfair methinks.
AND…
pah, don’t get my mouth opened, I says.
Saturday, February 17, 2007 @ 1:02 PM
Good luck to you, Megha. Design is great. Greater is the content. (I wish there was another category called ROTFL. I could then easily imagine all five nominations to go to this blog. Cracks us up and lets us have a hearty day :) . So keep spinning us on the “rolling” part.) Cheers.
Saturday, February 17, 2007 @ 1:15 PM
[anantha] Okie :)
[Fleiger] Ye to sarasar nainsaafi aur tensaafi bhi hai, milord! Fushtofall, I posted dutifully asking for votes. Which was a proper post. Then I even accepted your vote in the form of a Maharashtrian rodent, despite my legendary love for rodents of all regions. Aur phir bhi? Hmpfh! *shakes head and walks away muttering ye aajkal ke chhokre!*
[Sriram] Heh! You are evil. And stop you? Why would I ever do that? :)
[SimplyRed] Kya hua? Rod Stewart is on vacation? Forgot all about haldi scene. Yes, exactly like that only. Fortunately boy next door doesn’t look as dorky as Rishi did in first hero movie. (Although Rishi in later years cleaned up nicely, I’ll admit. The Pancham songs also helped hugely with the image, I guess.) And why pick on Asha? Didn’t Lata get multiple song nominations in same category at Phillumfare-that-is-not-so-fair much before Asha? You biased-towards-older-sister, you! (I should probably look up Phillumfare statistics before pointing accusatory fingers though.)
ps .. Apparently the comments have mysteriously started working?
[Chetan] Hey Chetan! Good luck to you too! Was very happy to see your blog in the list of nominations! I wish the powers-to-be considered the content of this blog worthy of a nomination, but wottodo. Since true genius is always underappreciated, I shall assume that my being ignored is simply an indication of my profound genius, and I shall humbly accept that :) And thank you for your faith in my content. Being able to make my readers laugh and smile is the biggest joy of all.
Saturday, February 17, 2007 @ 2:43 PM
mAkEnTaTa, aha, mAkEnTaTa ani aDugutunna..
Saturday, February 17, 2007 @ 2:47 PM
[deitaDi] Gratitude. The supremest of all emotions. Ahem.
Saturday, February 17, 2007 @ 2:59 PM
nice one~
Saturday, February 17, 2007 @ 4:42 PM
Miss, aap to neeche jaa ke khadi ho gayi…
I was saying I am not giving you a giant rodent, but a bribe. And how many of politicians work for a living?
Nobody understands a true artist *sniff*
Saturday, February 17, 2007 @ 7:04 PM
Now pliss vote.
ONLY IF YOU PROMISE TO GET LOST!!
Monday, February 19, 2007 @ 11:58 AM
[Invincible] Thank you!
[Fleiger] Heh, artist it seems :) No misunderstanding at all. I accepted your vote as a bribe, hence the remark about accepting your vote in the form of a Maharashtrian rodent. And excuse me? Here I am trying to change the image of politicians and you try to pigeonhole me into a stereotype? Sigh. There is no justice in this world. *sniffle*
[Ritika] Aww! Someone doesn’t like me! Cho chweet! :)
Monday, February 19, 2007 @ 12:31 PM
[Megha] senti aaa.. isonTi kathal mastuginnam.. chEtila chillara paDandE pani gAdu..
Monday, February 19, 2007 @ 3:24 PM
Oh well, it takes an artist to recognise one, and I recognise you as an artist, ergo… :D
You want to change the image of politicians? A bit of a heavy task, don’t you think? And I wouldn’t make any decisions till the promised “naagin” post comes up… And I think all your readers would agree with me. Ask them ask… go ahead…
Monday, February 19, 2007 @ 10:00 PM
[deitaDi] Mari what to do. Senti is the only thing that works on the patthar dils of the world. Anyway, if you insist, khaate mein likh lo :)
[Fleiger] Arrey, the magnitude of a task has never deterred me from taking it on. Is true of the muchly hyped naagin post and is true of politician images too. And no no, I ain’t risking asking my readers anything at this point. Voting ends tonight and I shall not make any promises until then. Now please be nice to your grandma and vote soon (meaning now!), will ya? :)
Monday, February 19, 2007 @ 10:17 PM
Done it naaniji… did da voting…
Hmm… isn’t there something like a period directly before the elections when you can’t canvass… so that’s very ethical of you. (Looks like you have started the task)
Monday, February 19, 2007 @ 11:27 PM
Err, am I missing something, or is there some love that’s been… err… lost, between Ritika and A walk in the clouds.. ?
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 @ 4:14 AM
[Fleiger] Yay, finally! Thankoo :) And thank you for noticing and acknowledging my efforts. It is a long, arduous, uphill task, but somebody’s gotta do it. Sigh.
[witnwisdumb] Nopes you didn’t miss anything. Inspiring inexplicable hatred is our hallmark, didn’t you know? And yes, she is li’l Bo Peep and love is like a sheep. All poetic and all, it is.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 @ 11:05 AM
senti with patthar dils.. enda chATa.. campaigning la distribute chEstunna sArA pyAkiT lalla okaTi laTakna eshnarA endi poddu poddunne, or was it guDumbA
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 @ 2:00 PM
i voted too.
ps: paddy said he would kill me if i didnt :-)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 @ 3:33 AM
And I can find no one better suited (or sareed) for the purpose…
BTW, didn’t get that Bo Peep and sheep thing.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 @ 8:34 AM
[deitaDi] What is this insinuation, I say! That I distribute alcohol to my voters as a bribe? I’ll have you know that I don’t trink on the dampaign crail. Erm. Yeah. Like that wonly. Hic.
[St] Why thank you! Grateful for the support, despite the means :)
And Paddy! *wipes away lone tear trickling down one cheek a la Rani Mukherjee in KANK* You would threaten people with bodily harm for the sake of this blog? You are a true friend. *starts howling - through good times, and bad times, i’ll be on your side forevvvver moooooooore .. that’s what friends are fooooorrrr!* But seriously, thankoo :)
[Fleiger] Ooh, let me educate! Old nursery rhyme about a little girl who loses her sheep -
Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep
And doesn’t know where to find them.
Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.
So very perfect for all the love being lost :)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 @ 10:22 AM
Hoy, the elder sis had the grace to remove herself from the scene @ Filmfare. And Rishi Kapoor was never dorky; just permanently overfed and amiably dumb.
BTW, this is why I make it a point to pass by your blog whenever opportunity arises; it infects one with random associations long forgotten … Like [aNTi]’s “mail is coming” made me hum along with that classic “Rain is falling chama-cham-cham” song … and your cho-chweet reply to Writhika brought to mind Sribaby’s description of the dog in Sadma … and so on and so forth.
(BTW, Writhika, she cannot get lost. She cannot even get *it* most of the time write, so 4-letter words are wasted on her).
Sigh, I MUST tell the doc to reduce the medication.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 @ 10:40 AM
Ok, so let me get this straight… she lost her love while walking in the clouds, and told it to get lost… so that it can wag its tail and come back to her.
How nice…
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 @ 11:50 AM
oooops!! Missed the deadline….!yikes! sorry bout tht, bt id like to add that your blog requires no external validation for popularity… yay! its good and gets better… all the time!:) not to mention the scattered posts over the months :) Looking forward for your next post… good luck n hope u win all the accolades! :)
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 @ 4:15 AM
Booooooooooooo………
>:)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 @ 12:34 PM