Friday, May 22, 2009

Beyond words


Here's the problem I face. I write for a living, and when this is all you do, day after day, any extra writing, starts feeling like a pain. In circumstances such as these I have realised one thing that makes every piece of writing memorable. The integrity in it. Writing for a newspaper, I pretty much don't have a choice on what to write. And over a period of time, writing starts feeling artificial, as if they are just a lifeless string of words, meant to be forgotten in a nano second. But writing can be alive, it can be vibrant, and it captures in them, the very essence of who you are.


So the best pieces of writing reflect your image like a mirror. By ‘your’ I don't mean the writes’s but every person who reads that it. The words start becoming a part of you, as though it was echoing your own thoughts. And for the writer, its a spiritual experience, like art, it manifests itself out of thin air and acquires a personality of its own. Then you read back your own words and go ‘I cant believe I wrote that!’.
But when you write for a living, these moments are so rare, that you almost fight for it...and then when you let go, it magically reappears. As vibrant, as alive as ever. Waiting to be written. In such times there is really no difference between the writer and the pen or keyboard in this case, as both are mere instruments, that allow higher experiences and knowledge to flow though them. In fact there is really no difference between the writer, the pen, the words and the reader.


Its not a problem anymore, so what if I write for a living, so what if i do this day after day. So what! Its all the same anyway. The writer, the pen, the words and the reader.
And as a writer its not what I write that counts. But the experience in itself. I don't write 'for a living', but I write 'living'.

13 Annotations:

Ashish said...
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Ashish said...
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Ashish said...

This is the best pieces of writing.....
A true writer is waiting for the magical movments of words... This article seems to be really beyond words...
I feel "‘I cant believe I wrote that!’" is the best experience one writer can ever have....

Nice Post :)
(Nice is an understatement...)

Unknown said...

:-) Very interesting

I could, in a way... relate... I loved writing computer programs and then I became a programmer for a big company. And that was pretty much the end of my love story! :> I still have my little moments of pleasure programming... once in a while though!

Unknown said...

"In fact there is really no difference between the writer, the pen, the words and the reader." ... way 2 go... Yoga Vashishta ishtyle :-)

G Unnikrishnan said...

Good post. As a writer having a self-knowledge is very important. At times I face that 'pain' for writing day after day, especially on tour, and since I write on cricket sometimes I have to write like crazy. The craziest of them all was in 2007 when I toured England and I had to write for 83 continous days and that too daily 3-4 stories. You can imagine that with India being 4hrs ahead of UK.
But I found that itz a matter getting used to it, discovery comes after some 11 years). The best way I think to stay motivated as a writer is to write more with an aim to improve.

Pranay said...

Was just bloghopping... and came across ur blog..
I'd jusy say that you captured the heart every writer with this post...
Truly, that feeling of having written something good... is of utopian measure.

Madhuri Kaushik said...

@ashish-The magic is in every moment, just a matter of being aware of it.
@Manish, I still wonder where those words came from :)
@Unni- I still havent accquired that state of dispassion as a journalist yet, hope it takes lesser than 11 years.
@Pranay- Its not the writing, but the feeling of 'something good' that is of utopian measure! and by that is happening with this little comment as well.

Abhay Karnataki said...

I agree!
sometimes the writeups are just flowing... and sometimes especially if one is forced to write it, even words show some awkwardness!

srikant kancherla said...

Enjoy each and every aspect of Life' as a blessing of God . Then every thing becomes a celebration !

Rashmin said...

WOW! you write so well.. it was a pleasure reading your blog.

Mayank said...

I fell in love with writing in the 9th grade thanks to my English teacher. We used to crave for her comments alongside anything we wrote. Then it was chasing the 'I can't believe I wrote that' moments. One of my favorites was sharing the experience of IVA on it's first anniversary!:)

Haven't been able to write as much - but when I do write - I relish every bit of it! :)

Neat Post!!!

Unknown said...

hey, sharika here.. finally!!!!! been trying to call u since ages.. as for writing, well u write well.. this piece somehow seems more honest that the rest of them:).. and writing can be a pretty scary task..an MA eng student myself,.. argh i am scared of writing..very..and you knw..i guess all art forms come from that..be it dance or painting both which i have seen that phase" icant beleive i did thta" ..beautiful bit:).. and a lovely post as well:)..muah;)