End of (an) odyssey?

A  chain book store of  reputed brand  closed shutters near my  home. This was one of the most famous book/ leisure  store which opened more than 70 stores across india.  It closed very fast in the west, east and northern region. But was doing good  business in the south till a few years ago.  Infact, more popular in Bangalore and Chennai  that whenever I visited these places for vacation,  I shopped for books and took my children for all those vacation workshops .

There was a time(10 years back)  when i was waiting for this store to open in my city and when its first store opened in  my city, I traveled 14 kms to buy books, boardgames and other multimedia like CDs, casettes, stationary. Some 7 years back, this shop opened its branch closer home and we were regulars there. But in the past one year, i realized i had'nt visited this store or any of those book stores. 

 These were not just book stores but were more than that.  They conducted many weekend workshops  of famous people like Rob of MAD fame, story telling sessions of kathalaya,  reading and other interactive sessions, so this book store and the other swanky  chain of book/leisure  stores in the malls  were our regular haunts when my children were young. Distance was never a matter when it came to book stores, we have traveled long distances to  attend the  children workshops, reading sessions at the various book shops.  They were  good  exposure to my children on the creative as well as learning fronts.  It made them socially interactive and they were good learning grounds for their life skills too as they made them bolder and confident to meet and approach people.

 It was  on a November 14^th, on children’ day there was a creative workshop, story session, magic show and a lego toy workshop for children in one of the book store inside a lifestyle store. My husband then was mostly on official tours, so   I took my children to the place and they thoroughly enjoyed the session and finally when it was  time to return. The last show was announced, the fancy dress contest. I was unaware of the contest so they had no chance of participating.   My daughter who was a very outgoing child and open to participating in such contest said “Ma, I want to participate too”.  I told her  she was in a pant and top and  this was no fancy dress  and  moved towards the coffee shop which was on the same floor to get them something to eat. They went back to watching the show.

The food order took pretty long and  I was waiting for them at the coffee table, my daughter came back to me and told, “But I could have been a newsreader. What matters is attitude ma, not just fancy dress.  You should have allowed me to go”   It surprised me to hear that from a 7 year old.   Such was the influence of these bookstores on many children.    The creative contests most of these shops threw were instant topics/ themes and my children have won many drawing , creative writing contests at not just here, even in Chennai and Bangalore.

The malls which we went to are still there, but the book shop floors of all these malls have disappeared or shrunk.  Similarly many libraries and stand alone book stores  have also closed shutters.

They were doing good business till a couple of years ago. Then what brought the curtains down ?

Is it the reading interest that is on wane or is it the online stores and ebooks?

If these are the reasons, then sadly  I am one of the contributor ,  guilty of not reading books , purchasing online and reading on a flickering screen.  

A nomination from an author blogger

(much as i try, i am unable to decapitalize the below texts, they don't appear that way in the draft, so  please excuse)

This blog of mine has been nominated for Leibster award by Mrs.Usha Menon. The nomination gathers more value because it has been nominated by a very distinguished, dedicated,  active and young blogger.  Yes, Usha ma’am at 77 is young at heart  with a positive and liberal outlook and it clearly reflects on her blogposts. A retired educationist from Directorate of Education, New Delhi and the author of the book “Reverse Gear”, an autobiographical  book which sort of draws analogy between her professional and personal life, the ups and downs faced by an average working woman.

 That is not all, having learnt to use computer recently, she has already written insightful, inspiring and creative posts numbering more than 200 in a short span of time. And is a regular contributor to “Write tribe’ prompts in the form of Haikus, nonets, shortfiction in 100 words, 55ers  etc.,

 Thank you, Ma’am for the nomination, I consider it a privilege to be nominated from a creative and popular blogger like you.  

To accept the award,  I must complete the following.

 Linkback to the person’s blog that have nominated you. ( done)

 Nominate 10 more bloggers whom you feel are deserving and have less than 200 followers and you pass the award on to them(I know very few bloggers and most bloggers I know are more popular and famous with more than 200 followers .So, I am tweaking this and nominating all my favorite bloggers)

Answer all questions posted by the nominator(will do)

 Create10 questions for the nominees (done)

Contact the nominees and let them know that they have been nominated for the Leibster. (will do)

Now, over to the questions by Mrs. Menon for me

        1  Why do you write?

I write for various reasons. To express my thoughts , ideas and note down all things that touches, inspires and affects me.

       2 Why did you start blogging?

To  stash my memories, happenings, travel tales, food tales and all that simple things that I experience. My blog mostly records only happy moments and is a written document for my children to read later on in life.

      3  What do you prefer, love marriage or an arranged marriage? Why?

 I favor both type of marriages as long as it is not an arrangement for convenience and is a life long committment.

 In love marriage, there should be matured love, understanding, adjustment ,trust  and maturity to handle  the marriage.   In arranged marriage,  the people involved should like each other and it should not be a marriage between and for families only.

      4  Does Politics interest you? Give reasons.

Votebank politics does not interest me. But, constructive politics does interest me for the simple reason that it helps in nation building and as a citizen I am benefitted.

     5 Which is your  favourite TV  programme?

I am not a regular  TV viewer but I randomly watch  all  travel, food  and music shows on TLC, Travel Trendz,  NDTV good times and a tamil DD channel called Podhigai.  one serial I like watching is Rajshri productions “ Pyar ka dard hai…….”.  When I am unable to see, I follow written updates. All these are my favorites

     6 Three things which are most important for you in life?

         1) My family  which includes immediate and relatives like uncles and aunts

       2) happiness

         3) Money ( not filthy enough to own an island or a private yacht, but sufficient to lead a pretty decent life)

         
    7 Which is your favourite News Paper?

 National daily ‘ The Hindu’

     8 At what age a child can be given sex education?

  Thanks to Satellite television and other media, today’s children are well informed. So, as early as 9 or even earlier depending on the environment they grow in.  But it should be imparted gradually and  taught  as a natural biological process without any awkwardness, not as a taboo or sin.  The children should be taught about good touch and bad touch as early as ‘3’ or when a child is able to understand what is being told.

    9  Which character has influenced you most in a novel? Why?

‘Swaminathan’ of RK narayan’s ‘Swami and friends’ for his innocence, simplicity and naughtiness and almost everyone faces problems like him in childhood and can relate to him.

    10. Which country do you wish to live for ever?

             Bharat Varsh

Now the questions that I have drafted for my favorite  and leibster deserving bloggers.

1. If you could learn one skill, what would you learn?
2. Your major goal in life?
3. What’s your favorite motivational quote?
4. How do you de-stress yourself?
5. The  traditional food you like most ?
6. Your favorite game in your childhood?
7. Do you think technological advancements have made us less creative. YES/No. justify your choice.
8. In today’s scenario. If you were to raise a child,  How would you raise him/her?  A sheltered life like in a bubble shielding him/her from the various problems or would you let her/him  freely to explore, experiment and learn by exposing them to the harsh realities of life and be independant.
9. IF you were to narrate an inspiring story of a person from history/fiction/ real life to a 10 year old. Whose story would you choose to narrate?
10. If a  confused teenager came up to you asking for advice on what career choice to make. What would be your advice?

Now, to get the award, you  bloggers have to help me.

I nominate all my favorite bloggers – Sowmya( soul space)

                                                               Swapna (Petals)

                                                                Rama ( time, time..)

                                                                Gils( will try to bring him back)

                                                               Ramesh ( business musings)

                                                                Shilpa ( a rose...)

                                                                SG ( shoot the breeze)

                                                                 shachi(expressions) 

                                                               Renu( anoobhooti)

                                                             & last but not the least Usha ma'am again

I can understand if you don't want to write the answers on your blog, but would appreciate if you write it here in my comments section.

so, any takers?