A Dozen Years as Locomente

Today Locomente turns 12 years old! And I am floating in a dreamy land. These are one of those moments when we fondly wonder how quickly time passes. I still remember that boring night with power outage; I endlessly googled on Nokia XpressMusic phone with limited internet and came up with the name – Locomente – a conglomeration of 2 Spanish words, Loco and Mente which means Crazy mind. Several years later through Spanish speaking friends, I learnt that it must be Locamente. Little spelling mistakes are allowed, I console myself. I also remember how a friend thought it is a Malayalam word Logamente which literally means World is Mine. We all laughed, and I still hear her laugher. She was a joyful spirit, and I am sure she must be having a good time with angels in heaven.

This blog has been my constant. There have been times when I have posted daily and there were times when I have completely abandoned it. Sometimes thoughts flow effortlessly and sometimes it’s a cumbersome process. Yet we have travelled together all these years.

This relationship surprises me, especially when I read some of my old blogs. Did I write them? Most importantly, am I capable of writing something like this. Thankfully, there are very few cringe contents. The other day, a friend wanted to know about Kalpathy Theru and I shared my blog post. I do that when somebody asks for book recommendations as well. A foreign friend was curious about Lord Krishna’s obsession for butter. And I had a butter story to share. I do the same when they ask about Kolam and festivals of India. These are times when Locomente comes in handy. In fact, there is so much content that I don’t remember myself. I just checked; this is my 1809^th post. So, you can imagine!

While these are the perks of having Locomente, the flip side is that people still think that I write autobiographical stuffs. This really frustrates me. As you know, I am a Commerce student. The first lesson we are taught is: Business and businessman is different. And the rule for a writer is also the same – Writer and the writings are different. One should never mix that up. For a writer (I mean myself – come on it’s been 12 years. Let me have my moment of glory), inspirations come from least expected places. While watching movies or reading books, while travelling or talking to other people, the swaying leaves or the moving clouds. It could come out of nowhere too and take you by surprise. Anyways, these are the inherent risks and misconceptions that is attached to being a writer, I guess.

The disheartening fact, however, is that written blogs are near to dead. People expect Vlogs and shorts. I am a lover of words and I believe in a slow-burning romance with them. Therefore, I like to write long posts and hope that someone reads it. In fact, I must thank you right away if you have read so far. Because you have survived 509 words! Please type, “I have Survived” in the comments section so that I know there are people who still read such long posts. I will take that as Locomente’s birthday gift!

With that note, let me thank you - my readers…

You have been a constant support. Your comments mean the world to me and beyond!

Thanks to my family and friends for patiently reading the blog links that I share… I always appreciate your critical comments. They always help me grow and evolve into a better writer.

Now let me also thank Locomente and wish the happies birthday ever…  After all, you are my alter-ego... my constant… my source of inspiration, expression, and gratitude! Forever blessed to have this Locomente blog in my life and simply be Locomente at times (Well, mostly always).

As always, miles to go before I sleep…

And so many words to express the thoughts before they vanish…

Until next year, cheers!