Famous Italian fashion entrepreneur and blogger Chiara Ferragni says when she started her blog, she wanted “it to be like my house — my own little space that anyone could come to”.
For bloggers in Shillong, the space has only grown over the years and has become more interesting with a hue of subjects which they write about. From poetry, politics to paan (tympew), Shillong bloggers have been immensely imaginative and have tried to open as many windows on the world as possible through their prose and verses, and not to forget cartoons.
A blog (noun) is defined as a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or a small group and which is written in an informal or conversational style. It is, in fact, a personal creative space where alternate ideas are projected to the world.
Raju Das, who started his blog in 2010, says as a local journalist there is little scope to go beyond facts and the blog space helps him project the alternate perspective of things he experiences during his reporting assignments.
“The art of blogging furthers creative processes. Even the most trivial journal entries if written impersonally can work as blog posts,” says a young poet and blogger on condition of anonymity.
“My blog chronicles everything right from my early lyric poems to countless book reviews and nowadays narrative non-fiction pieces. In retrospect, I envisioned a chord of progression. Experimenting with different forms is free-play much like jazz. My sole focus is high literariness of character,” he says about his blog that has 430 followers.
Auswyn Winter Japang, a postgraduate student of English, started his blog to share “the memories of my Khasi culture — its narrative traditions, songs, dances, folklore, myths and legends and so on”.
“What drove me to start this blog is a result of two courses so far that I am pursuing at the University (English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad) — Critical Humanities and Performing Traditions. Their impact on me and on how I understand cultural memory is immense, thereby allowing me to seek, explore and understand the cultural memories of the Khasi people and how they have transformed or retained their integral identity over the years,” the young poet and philatelist writes in the introduction of his blog, Memories of a Culture.
For some like Melanie Pariat, it was the journey of life that drove them to start their blogs.
Pariat, who is pursuing masters in Cultural and Creative Studies at NEHU, believes “the most impactful experiences or lessons always leave engraved footprints in the journey of life” and those deserve to be penned down.
Pariat decided to write a blog, “nourishing the yearning thoughts and vision that needed to be written with the guidance of creativity and with the intensions of igniting a light of connection in humanity by relating one’s experience with another, making sure that readers are constantly aware that the person sitting next to them is capable to think and feel the same way as they do”.
“The smallest thought can inspire you to write. Driven by the saying, ‘Take your pain and turn it into art’ evolved my actions into a better influence. What inspires me to write is the depth of the different kinds of interactions with intriguing individuals. I believe one will learn something new from each and every person they talk to,” says the blogger, adding that two write-ups, ‘Login’ and ‘Take Your Pain and Turn it into Art’, are among her favourites as they speak directly to readers leaving them with a positive lingering thought to ponder on.
And with words borrowed from the young and prolific writer, one can describe the blog and its creator as, “Together they were vibrant! Almost screaming in energy.”
The bloggers in Shillong not only open up their hearts to the readers but also provide crucial information about the indigenous culture and the history of the place. For instance, HH Mohrmen, who is a minister in a church, guides a reader through the villages and caves of Jaintia Hills, talks about Khasi-Pnar culture and at the same time exposes the stumbling blocks on the way of development. His is a simple blog packed with information.
“I started writing blogs because I felt that I have something to share with my friends… I can’t remember my first blog but I remember that I have been writing about our cultures and festivals for quite some time, even before I started blogging,” says Mohrmen, who has stopped blogging for some time now but hopes to resume it soon.
For Biswapriya Purkayastha, aka Bill the Butcher, it all started with Orkut, the first social media platform in the early part of the new millennium. Purkayastha, who is a dentist by profession, would post “very short stories on Orkut but those had limited viewers”.
“Then I shifted to multiply.com, a blogging site… Apart from stories I was also posting my opinions on various (international) political issues, like the Iraq invasion. I got a larger audience on Multiply but unfortunately the site was sold to another owner who converted it into an e-shopping site,” the blogger recollects.
His transformation to Bill the Butcher was after the Multiply episode. His blog has around 140 followers. Purkayastha says many of the followers are bloggers from Multiply and Orkut and over the years, they have become friends. “But some of them are giving me fresh perspectives on and interesting information about what I am writing,” says the 48-year-old fiction writer and poet.
Bill the Butcher describes himself as evil and “absolutely not a nice man to know”.
“Also, I eat your dreams,” says the sinister message above the photo of a masked man.
Purkayastha is a cartoonist too and is mostly into political cartoons. A cartoon titled ‘Shakedown’ that was posted on April 22 is based on the recent terror attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka.
“I started drawing cartoons in 2012 as a joke. But I started enjoying cartooning and realised that it has a bigger audience,” says the self-taught cartoonist, adding that he uses free platforms for his blogs and cartoons.
Another blog, From Mawlai, tells stories from the ‘Other Side of Shillong’. The blog has both Khasi and English content and uses poems as its medium to connect with readers.
‘Dreams to Remember’ created by “poet, writer and bibliophile” Willie Gordon Suting has miscellaneous content that comprises poems, book reviews, articles, recollections and opinion pieces.
Many of these blogs are on WordPress, which provides a free platform to writers and poets. “Wordpress is the most innovative website developer constantly engaging in reinventing itself. Novel features mostly in terms of design language are introduced every year. I love the manner in which they tweaked the app. The functionality makes editing and posting hassle free,” says a young blogger.
Several bloggers also share their posts on social media for bigger audience. It is heartening to see that despite the invasion of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, blogging goes on.
With changing times popularity of blogging has increased making a perceptible change in the way information and creativity are presented. The numerous bloggers here not only give an outsider an idea about the local tradition and culture but also portray life in its myriad forms, allowing outsiders to explore their thoughts and worlds without any tangible permit.
~ NM