Brevity is the essence of success of a blog: Rajgopalan Ramesh

Basically a public pulse reader. Ya, you guessed right. I have been a journalist for 26 years. Spent 17 years with The Times of India, Mumbai, and nine years in The Gulf Today, Sharjah. Among cities in India, I love Mumbai. Chennai is my birthplace and I have a special regard for the city but not its politicians. Ramesh R

I was sitting on grass two decades ago, but that place has turned into massive rail stations in Navi Mumbai. Compare this with Chennai, where the stinking smell of the Cooum river bombards your nostrils across the city. Thanks to politicians, this has been the situation for several decades. I blog at Global Madrasi.

I am a Socrates fan and love his words: The man with least needs is closest to God.” Then I read Bill Gates’ quote: “If you are born poor, it’s not your mistake. But if you die poor, it’s definitely your mistake.” I was confused. But am convinced now. Life is all about balance. If there is heat, there is cold, if there is happiness, there is distress. The trick lies in the Neutral Path. So better do not to jump with joy on good news, or sulk into a sea of distress when bad news strikes. What say?

My full name goes as RAJAGOPALAN RAMESH, born on April 27, 1961. In education, I have pursued BA Economics from New College, Chennai, PG Dip in Journalism: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai and PG Dip in Marketing, PR and Advg: Siddharth College, Mumbai. At present I live in Sharjah.

Interview

Q: Welcome to Speakbindas. Tell us since when blogging has been a part of your life? Was there any motive or inspiration as a backbone of it?

* I have been into blogging for the past two years. It all started in a jiffy. I was discussing with colleagues about new trends in the blog world, when the then chief reporter KM Rakesh humorously remarked, “You are a pro-globalization freak. Why don’t you start a blog named Global Madrasi?” The very next day, the blog was born.

Q: What is your blog all about? Which topics you cover there? Is that you alone running/maintaining the blog, or have a team?

* The blog is all about my experiences as a journalist and as a common man. I also highlight achievements of my dear friends, human emotions, dramatic and touching incidents that I come across, motivational events, travel and current affairs. You will notice a newspaperish-tinge in my writings. I enjoy presenting events in a humorous way.No team.

Q.: How important is it for the blogger to interact with their readers? Do you respond to all the comments that you receive?

* Interaction in fact is the key word for a blogger. If you are not ready to be in touch with the visitors of your blog, it is better you do not run a blog. It is like this; a guest enters your home and you say you are busy. It is insulting. I make it a point to respond to all the comments, though I may miss on certain occasions thanks towork overload.

Q: What are the present statistics for your blog, i.e. number of daily visitors, visitors geographical status etc.?

* I am sorry. I never bothered to check this out. I am weak on the technical aspects of the blog. Besides, I go on blogging without bothering much about how many people actually visit. I am confident that if I have some interesting message, people will definitely drop in. Once my blog vanished due to some tech glitch, and I could not continue with my posts. I was almost in tears. Some good blogger friends suggested that I change the URL and retain the original name. I did so, and managed to return to the blog world.

Q: Is blogging for you just a passion or a medium for earning too? Does it help you to earn enough cash to quit a 9 to 5 day job?

* I have never given a thought to the ad revenue aspect so far. May be, I should check out. Hey, anyone there who can suggest?

Q: Who are your favorite bloggers, whom you read frequently?

* Quite a few. And the best part is they have turned out to be great friends now. Doctors from NE, copywriter from Canada, media guys from Delhi, professionals from Mumbai, educationist from US… Some of us even interact on Gmail and discuss personal/professional matters. Please do not ask me to name them. They know themselves.

Q: From the secret bucket of your blogging experiences, what tips you would like to share with the fellow bloggers?

* According to The Sunday Times, there are 200 million blogs in the world. Well, even as millions of blogs come in, million others drop out. Many bloggers lose interest within months as blogging involves time and serious commitment. My suggestion is simple: Go for brief posts and do not write history books. Brevity is the essence of success of a blog. Adding humor will go a long way. It’s like adding sugar to coffee. OK, if you are a diabetic I do not know what to say.

Q: Do you believe that blogging completes you? If yes, tell us how

* Of course. I see a big change. It has given me a personal identity. A famous editor was complaining to me that wherever he went people added the name of his newspaper to his name. He is from Mr S from so-and-so newspaper. “The paper’s name is not my surname. It sucks. I want my own identity,” he complained. I found out that a blog gives one his/her own identity. Great feeling indeed.

Q: What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

* Happiest moment? There was this damn pretty girl on “saamnevale kidki.” (Opposite window) in Chennai. Boss, you should have seen her. We used to exchange glances. One day, I waved to her and she smiled back. That was the happiest moment.
* A college classmate suggested that I follow her in the bus when she went to college. He joined me too. We got down at the same bus stop. She saw me and started walking fast. We kept pace. She was almost running. Let me cut it short. The next day, she saw me through the window and then it happened. She slammed the window, with a loud thud. The message was clear. That was the gloomiest moment.
* No, no need to wipe my tears now. I am happily married and blessed with two darling daughters.
* On the gloomiest moment in life, I have a policy. I follow Buddha on this: Let go and be happy.

Q: Say, you are sponsored to travel to 3 world destinations, where you need not to worry about costs for food, hotel or anything. Which destinations would you pick up, and why? Would you like to take someone along with you? If yes, whom?

* First whom would I like to take along! Hey, you are such an intelligent interviewer who wants to land me in serious trouble. If I do not say “my wife,” you know that hot vessels with steaming “sambar” will be hurled on my face.
* I loved Hamburg during my visit when the World Cup Soccer took place. I would like to visit again.
* Egypt and Jordan, where I would like to see the pyramids and the Dead Sea.
* I have a very close friend in Canada. So, it will also be dream destination.
* In India, I am waiting impatiently to visit the North East. Again, I have two best blog friends from that region.

Q: Are you into watching movies? If yes, which fills your list of favorite ones?

* I like action and comedy movies of Hollywood. Enter the Dragon, Enemy of the State, Scent of a Woman, Wild Hogs, Avatar..the list can go on.

Q: How has blogging helped you other than money?

* Like I said, it has given me a personal identity. You will not believe the wide spectrum of friends I have made through the blog. There are doctors, engineers, journalists, chefs, homemakers, students, artists…well, name it and you have it.

Q: What would be the one thing you’d change about yourself?

* Ans: Am OK as I am, but open to suggestions. I love teamwork.

Q: What is your deepest fear?

* Ans.: The loss of near and dear ones.

Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

* Ans.:Please allow me to give three names: Vivekananda, Bruce Lee and Madonna.

Q: Which is your favorite television show? Favorite songs?

* Ans.:The favourite show is: Mind Your Language. (Though a bit old, the series has an evergreen humour flavour)
* The song is My Sweet Lord, by former Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison. The reason is that the song brought the East and the West together. The song takes off with Hallelujah and ends with Hare Krsna.

Q: How much money do you have in your purse/wallet right now (including change)?

* Ans.:AED 643 dirhams. (1 dirham is around Rs12). Do you call me a rich man?

Q: What is your favorite food? Any particular dislikes?

* Ans.: Any vegetarian dish. I do love Chinese fried rice and Manchurian. I will do anything for a nice cup of coffee. No particular dislikes.

Q: What’s your take on the technological advancement these days? Does it make people’s life simple or complicated?

* Ans.:Of course complicated. I can’t enter my loo in peace as the mobile starts buzzing. But then, it is better to let technology progress as it brings wonderful benefits too along with the problems.

Q: What do you think of “blogging is the next BIG thing”?

* Ans.:It is. Just wait and watch. There are many occasions, when as an editor, I have picked up clues from local blogs for news stories. The bloggers around the world are doing a great job buddy. Let’s give it to them.

Q: Any special message you would like to share with your blog readers as well with everyone else?

* Ans.:Blogging has now become a part of life. People who are not into blogging are missing a lot of action. It is not too demanding in that sense. For example, I know people who are posting just once a week or a fortnight. But they regularly interact with other bloggers and the benefits are immense. OK. Let me explain. When I wanted more details about MBA courses for my daughter, it was a blogger who helped me. When I went wrong with my cooking, a famous chef suggested me new techniques. When I was down with some challenging personal news, it was a dentist from Shillong who gave me immense support on chat.
* And the fun is you do not have to know much technical details. It’s all child’s play.
* Hey, where have you vanished? Oh, you are starting a blog. Send me the URL.

Cheers.