When I wrote my theme reveal post for the A to Z challenge, I was not sure what it would be! I knew it would be something to do with “love” but beyond that the idea was a blur! I toyed with various ideas before I decided I wanted to write about different “manifestations of love”. Being obsessed with the Mahabharata I wanted to write stories weaved out of little-known tales of love from the great epic.
There is a saying that whatever is present in the world, you will find a mention of it in the Mahabharata and if it is not mentioned in the epic then it is not present in the world!! I wanted to see if it holds true for different manifestations of love!! As I wrote the first one, it kind of opened up my mind and set the tone to what I wanted to write for the rest of the month.
I experimented with the emotions and thoughts of the protagonist in the stories, rather than retelling the story itself. This challenge drew its thoughts from my own experiences, relating my feelings and emotions with various people in my life and equating it with that of the protagonists in the story. As I wrote each post, I thought about the kind of love I shared with different people and my feelings for that person would flow out in the post through the main protagonist!
I loved the challenge because I wrote stories I didn’t think I was capable of writing. It made me think, it made me live the story, it made me get into the heads of the character. I enjoyed those glorious 26 days! I took a vacation in between, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to complete. But I did! I guess people do give priority to things they think is important!
My favorite posts in the challenge were Q for Quiescence, P for Platonic love and W for worship. Which one of my posts did you enjoy? Did any of my posts leave an impact on you? I would love to know.
There were other bloggers who shared my love of mythology; Suzy with her Ramayana, Sundari with characters of the Mahabharata, Fee with her Scottish mythology and Zalka Csenge Virág with the epics around the world! Cynthia, Vishal, Soumya, Shantala, Shilpa, Janaki, Rajalaksmi, Deepti, Aathira, Vinay, Susan, and Devika brought colour and variety to the challenge with their lovely tales, while Prassana and Swati entertained us with a 26 episode series and Chicky gave a wonderful tutorial in blogging! Ajay, Kavi, and Beloo, and many other friends kept my morale up with their comments even though they did not participate in the challenge.
It was fun to read the posts by the fellow challengers, and it was encouraging to see their comments on my stories. A writer’s greatest fulfillment comes from her readers and with so many friends not just commenting but also sharing my posts on Facebook, Google+ and twitter, it felt like I was part of a community. I wasn’t alone, and I felt really loved!
Thank you so much for making my journey all the more worthwhile and fulfilling!
See you again at the challenge next year. Until then, Ciao!
I share your enthusiasm for this years blog challenge. It was another good experience. Preparing the posts, the research, the photo search, the writing, are rewarding in and of themselves. From there is gets even better.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by Stepheny! It was wonderful indeed! this challenge has been rewarding for me in more ways than one!
DeleteAh ha! So that's how they turned out to be so full of life! 'Coz you were writing stories from your own life in a sense! Brilliant thinking!
ReplyDeleteI especially loved all your stories featuring Krishna. They transported me to a different state of mind altogether. I could just disconnect from my day-to-day life for those few minutes while I read those posts.
And I still have to write my reflections post.
That was the sweetest thing someone has said to me! what better reward for a reader than to hear someone say that their writings transported them to a different place!! Thanks a lot for sticking by me all through the month!
DeleteThank you so much for including me! :-) I loved your stories, they brought the mythologies alive.
ReplyDeleteWe shared the same theme and on certain days the same words!! I loved your posts too! and I'll always cherish the innumerable times you shared my posts on social media! Thank you so much!
DeleteTo be honest, i loved all the posts. The way you portrayed the emotions, characters and the stories kept me engrossed to most of them. Very difficult to pick one but i loved the "Platonic Love"..
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks for mentioning me..
Thanks for being a part of my journey Kavita...it meant a lot to me!
DeleteBy the way,instead of you thanking us, i would say Thank you for such wonderful stories some which we never knew, some which always cherished.
ReplyDeleteawwww.....thats so sweet!!
DeleteWow! The theme is super cool! I'm gonna start reading some.. beginning with the ones you liked the best!
ReplyDeleteDo head over to my blog and catch up on my Harry Potter and Hogwarts #AtoZChallenge Theme!
Mithila @Fabulus1710
http://www.fabulus1710.blogspot.in
Thank you Mithila...the potterhead in my house, my son, is already neck deep in your blog, devouring the potter mania!!
DeleteI loved your stories, and your theme was one of my favorites. :) Thank you for the mention! I am glad you had fun with the challenge, and that we connected through it :)
ReplyDeleteCheers!
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary
MopDog
I am so happy to hear that!! I am glad too that we connected through the challenge and it was great to share my love of mythology with someone who loved it as much I did! Thank you!! Cheers!
DeleteI really admired that you took on relating the stories of the Mahabharata and so beautifully narrating them in context with the challenge! Well done! Why don't you think of putting all the stories together as an ebook?!
ReplyDeleteAh! That's an idea I must think upon! Thank you Roshni for the kind words!
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your posts. I love the stories of Ancient India, and wish more people in the West knew about them. I think it's fair to say I'm more familiar with Hinduism and its literature than most Westerners, but a lot of these stories were new to me.
ReplyDeleteI loved having you here Carrie....I don't know a lot of people who appreciate Indian Mythology and to have someone like you who not only had a fair knowledge of the stories and an equal appreciation of them was wonderful!! Thank you!!
DeleteI was very impressed with your personal take on the Mahabharat. I can imagine the kind of effort that must have gone into reading it through and gleaning from it the different types of love that motivated the characters to do the things they did. Of the posts you did, P for Platonic Love stood out for me. That quote of yours, I would not rush to hold you, but I would not let you fall, it gave me goosebumps.
ReplyDeleteI commend you on the easy facility with which you wove the familiar stories into your own LOVEly strain. The unfamiliar spin you gave them helped me see the stories in a new light. Since my theme was characters too, it helped me to understand the characters' motivations a lot better.
Thank you for all the lovely words Cynthia! There were some posts which I rewrote twice or thrice because I didn't get the emotion right! You were there from the first post to the last and it meant a lot to me! Thank you so much!!
DeleteThat was a lovely theme..
ReplyDeleteI will read your posts now cos I remember reading and commenting only on Platonic Love.. Glad to have met you Titli :)
I am as glad Parul!! though we discovered each other a little late, I guess, it is never too late! thank you for the lovely words!
DeleteI'm so glad you said more than just you loved it. And it's so great that you mentioned all those bloggers. Congrats on finishing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting Susan...
DeleteIt was a real pleasure reading you :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Amrit!
DeleteI loved all your posts and I got to learn so much about our mythological stories, little tales that sometimes go unheard of- you brought them to light through your posts. My favorite would be P for Platonic Love. There was something mystical about the friendship shared between Krishna and Draupadi. Glad to connect with you during this challenge :)
ReplyDeleteI loved having you around Prasanna...your comments brought a smile to my face!! Thanks for the love!
DeleteI am so proud of us for having completed this contest :)
ReplyDeleteAnd it was such a pleasure reading your tales. I got to learn something new with every post of yours.
I simply loved your stories during this challenge. They were crafted so beautifully and painted such vivid images. You did great, S! Well done and congratulations ♥
ReplyDeleteHello there.
ReplyDeleteWell done for completing the challenge!
There's no question we all want to be loved. Why? Because God is love (1 John 4:8).
Thanks for reflecting.
Entrepreneurial Goddess
Congrats on completing the A to Z Challenge! Looking forward to next year! See you on the Road Trip!
ReplyDeleteMary @ Jingle Jangle Jungle
I LOVED your posts for the AtoZ. So glad to have come across you. I finally met someone who loves Mahabharata as much as I do. Hopefully someday I will be able to write about the epic and do it as much justice as you have. You have inspired me to start writing soon. Can't thank you enough for that. :)
ReplyDeleteHuge congratulations on completing the challenge! I absolutely adored your posts, and your writing was an absolute joy. I look forward to reading more from you in the future :)
ReplyDeleteFee | Wee White Hoose