My Liebster Blog Award

Appreciation is a tool that motivates one to make progress by leaps and bounds. Recognition of your hard work is always welcomed whole-heartedly. It turns your day worthwhile and makes you smile widely from ear to ear (just as I am doing now). Such a recognition came knocking on my door courtesy fellow blogger Chaitanya, who read my posts and found my poems interesting. He awarded me the Liebster Blog Award.   (Yipeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!) 

Now you must be wondering what this means? 

To quote from Chaitanya's blog:

(http://chaitanyavs.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/my-liebster-blog-award-im-a-liebster-blogster/ )

What is a Liebster?

" It’s a blogger-to-blogger award that tells a fellow newbie blogger that they are making the world a more interesting /intellectual /funny /better place. For a lot of us, it comes just when we’re facing that first blogger’s block or wondering if it’s all worth it. For the rest, it’s a shower of accolades. Either way, it’s a great thing. There are no certificates or trophies, but hey, appreciation from a fellow blogger is always valued.

The Liebster Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. 

So, what is a Liebster?  The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. "

Now, with honour comes responsibility. And mine is to list 11 random facts about myself, answer 11 questions that Chaitanya has set me and nominate 11 new bloggers(less than 200 followers) to bask in the Leibster glow.After nominating them, I need to go back to their page and tell them about the award. (Hence, be happy and spread the joy.)

So here comes the 11 random facts about myself:

• I am a day-dreamer. I love to build castles in the air, probably choreograph a musical and perform in the same. My mind speaks a lot to me. In fact, I am a better writer, better dancer and the best person ever inside my head!

• I am addicted to chocolates. There was a time when I would eat five bars of Cadbury Daily Milk in one single day.It's the reason behind my multiple root-canal treatments. (wink wink)

• I enjoy talking and can talk nineteen to a dozen...in fact nothing excites me better than a good conversational exchange. 

• I am passionate about writing. It can be anything- an article or a poem or even a small note, but I cannot spend a day without writing or venting out my thoughts in the written form.

• I am good at mimicking people around me...the way they talk, the way they walk..their  mannerisms...(Now, this attribute is taken to be hilarious by some and annoying by few...)

• I love observing people around me. At times I shamelessly eavesdrop while pretending to drink my cup of coffee at the corner table . Their conversation provides me with food for thought. It alters my perspective of life around me. At times it gives me a God-like feeling where I can chuckle at someone's foolishness and be amazed by one's simplicity....all at once!

• I am obsessive about cleanliness. Everything has to be organized,neat and tidy in my room. 

• I love reading novels. They provide me with a glimpse of an alternate reality. That's fascinating. I enjoy reading Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Oscar Wilde, Amitav Ghosh, Kafka, Murakami to name a few. 

• I always wanted to be an actor since childhood. But sensing the impracticality of my dream, I switched to becoming a teacher. I love my job, and looking back, I don't regret my decision at all. 

• I used to stammer back in school. In fact, my problem was so severe that my friends mocked at me publicly at times. However, I was a braveheart since childhood. Despite my handicap, I continued to participate in Recitation competitions, where I bagged the first prize every time. I somehow never stammered on stage...I don't know why. I guess I chose my words very carefully...

• Lastly, although I appear to be an extrovert, I am an introvert to the core. It is very difficult for me to open up to strangers. Hence, many misjudge me at first and label me a snob. Then again,to make matters worse, I am extremely prone to mood-swings. At times I am extremely friendly and I keep talking endlessly. And again at times I feel morose and sullen. 

Well, if you have patiently gone through this list, you now know 80% of Neelima Chakraborty. The rest is unpredictable (seriously!) To know more, do read my blogs !!!

Now, here are the answers of the questions put forward by Chaitanya:

1) I blog because I want to.....
Ans. I blog because I want to express myself.

2) We all have articles we wrote with gusto but never published onto our blogs. What’s yours and why didn't you publish it?

Ans. There  was this article on my experiences in Lady Brabourne College hostel. I failed to publish it because there was too much of me in it. I felt (to quote from 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray')as if I was exposed. It made me feel vulnerable. Hence, I didn't publish it. However, I modified it a little, altered a few facts and published it later under the name "Lady Brabourne and I".

3) What’s your idea of the perfect blog?

Ans. My idea of a perfect blog is one that is offbeat and personal, one which echoes true sentiments...one that moves me and makes me want to read the blog again and again. 

4) There’s always a song, a book or a movie that changes our lives. What’s yours and how did it change your life?

Ans. Hmm...A book that changed my life recently was 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde. It redefined the parameters of art and aesthetics. Somehow it helped me understand life better with all its  uncertainties. Well, when I was a child I was always hooked to "The Adventures of The Wishing Chair" by Enid Blyton. Reading those tales of fantasy, I started believing in the extraordinary. It gave wings to my imagination and it came to my rescue  whenever I was sad and lonely. On the other hand, there are many movies that have affected my understanding of life. You may say they have offered me an escape from the everyday drudgery. Example, the visual details of Apur Sansar, the tale of a special child 'Anjali', the simple story of the quest of a child for her lost dog-'Halo' and many more. 

5) What’s that memory that haunts you and makes you cringe in embarrassment?

Ans. Going back to my stammering days, there was a time I failed to read a complete sentence in my second language Hindi classes without stammering a zillion times. In fact, I used to feign illness every time I was asked to read. While I battled my public humiliation, my classmates always had a hearty laugh at my cost. 

6) What does the inner child in you enjoy doing the most?

Ans. The inner child in me wants to run about the entire stretch of the room, squeal with joy, have a good time with friends and spread sunshine wherever she goes. 

7) What would you do if no one’s watching?

Ans. If no one's watching me, I would break into a jig to the tunes of the latest Bollywood number.

        P.S. I am a terrible dancer.

8) If you were an item on a restaurant menu, what would you be and why?

Ans. If I were an item on a restaurant menu, I would choose to be a cup of hot coffee because people would sip into me each time while making the most important decisions of their life. I would be with him/her in his/her good and bad times and my caffeine would help him/her to relax and get his/her life back on track. As some say, a lot can happen over a cup of coffee!

9) Who do you wish would compliment you on your blog?

Ans. Nobody in particular, everybody in general...I appreciate each of my reader's opinion of the posts in my blog. 

10) If you weren't in the career that you are now, what would you be doing?

Ans. If I weren't a teacher, I would have joined my grandfather's confectionery business and would have looked after it. Or may be, I would have turned into a writer and published a book or two. 

11) Describe your writing style in 5 words.

Ans. Lyrical, Lucid, Crisp, Poetic, Emphatic. 

My nominations for Liebster:

1. http://maitrasagnik.blogspot.in/ Sagnik Maitra
2. http://makeachange1.wordpress.com/  Ankita Singhal
3. http://sammed.blogspot.in/  Sam
4. http://bookandmoviereviewra.wordpress.com/
5. http://noshitsankalp.blogspot.in/ Sankalp
6. http://hibasfe.blogspot.in
7. http://vicky-pedia.blogspot.in  Vikas
8. http://potboilers.blogspot.in  Smith Mehta
9. http://gravityoflife.blogspot.ae/
10. http://iamamlan.blogspot.in  Amlan Jyoti Das
11. http://storyoflifeandadventures.wordpress.com

My questions to the above winners:

1. Who is your role model in life and why? 
2. Who is your favourite fictional character (books or movies) and why?
3. Have you ever come across writer's block? Suggest some ways to overcome it.
4. What will be your next blog about?
5. If you get an opportunity to interview a person who is now dead, who would you interview and why?
6. Define "Fun" in your own words.
7. Describe the most memorable incident in your life.
8. If you are chosen to play the lead role in a film,

• Who would you like to be directed by?
• Who would play the lead opposite you and why?
• Give the title of your film.

      9. Imagine you have come to know from your trusted doctor that you have just another     

          24 hours to live. Enlist the things that you would like to do before you breathe last. 

     10. What is that one thing that gets you really angry?

     11. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?

Winners, please note:

• On receiving the Liebster award, you need to post 11 random facts about yourself.
• Answer the questions that I have set for you. Then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you  pass the award to.
• Choose 11 new bloggers with less than 200 followers to pass the award to and link them in your post.
• Go to their page and tell them about the award.
• No tag backs.

 Congratulations and good luck, dear bloggers....Keep blogging :)