Two women...

It was on a slack afternoon in office that I stumbled upon Anita’s travel blog while wandering on the internet, looking for travel options. The year, I guess, was 2006. She had been writing since 2001. I was fascinated by her introduction; it was very different from what I had been reading in other blogs. (She has changed it since then.) The image posted showed her to be a pretty girl with an impish smile, holding her precious cat Kit Kit. In an instant, I was drawn towards her – her effervescent personality, and her writing. Somewhere, it struck a chord with me. At that point, I was a restless person, dying to travel the world, and not be tied down to anything or anyone. She was the person I wished to be. 

Over the years, as I followed her blog, I saw her travel extensively and try newer activities. Her writing was always crisp – she knew exactly what to write and just how much to write, without being overtly personal. Sometimes, while writing about visiting her hometown, she would passingly refer to her mom wanting to see her get married. My mom was asking me to do the same and I found some solace in knowing that I was not alone in the same predicament. Once, in a rare show of emotions, she wrote about her friend getting married and wondered if she will see that day in her life. Suddenly, she was silent for a few weeks. She then quietly announced in her next post, with all the coyness of a new bride, that she had got married. I was mighty pleased for her. She kept on blogging, more about the marathons and cycling trips that she had got attached to. I sometimes wondered if there was any activity that she had not touched upon.

For some reason, Anita disappeared from the blogging scene for the better part of 2011-2012. Just when I was beginning to miss her, she re-surfaced to resume her writing, perhaps not as frequently as she had done in the past. Recently, she was chosen as one of the 25 travel bloggers, out of a comprehensive list, for the Kerala Blog Express and we have been hearing more from her. She continues to be one of my inspirations.

A few years after I discovered Anita’s blog, I came across another gem, diametrically opposite. It was that of Mayurakshi’s, a blog as beautiful and passionate as her name. She is someone who loves to wear her heart on her sleeves. While Anita was restrained regarding her personal life, Mayurakshi poured out her heart on her blog. She dreamt of travelling, too, but perhaps she is more bound towards her family and filial duties. She is a doctor, would you believe it, that romantic girl? 

She loves to lose herself amongst books, and her writing reflects that. Her effortless flow of words, straight from her heart, mesmerized me. While I didn’t have heart-breaks in my own life, her emotions stirred me and moved me to tears. After every misstep, she would try to move on. It was like reading a monologue that she was having with herself, reasoning and logic, and then encouragement. She is a fighter, through and through, and someone who is in love with love. She would delete some of her posts, which perhaps on hindsight appeared silly to her, but I would continue to remember them. Such is the power of her beautiful words, a skill I can never hope to emulate, though I wish to. 

None of these girls know the impact they have had on me. While I may have commented a few times (twice, thrice?) on Mayurakshi’s blog, I don’t think I have ever commented on Anita’s. You see, I have always been that girl who remained quiet and never raised her hand in class although I was the only one who knew the answer. I would have never started my own blog had I not been subconsciously motivated to write down about my own little travels, food experiments and memories, by reading these blogs. Besides my husband, I think Anita and Mayurakshi too had some hand in it. Another fact that connected me with these girls was our love for our sisters. It made me feel as if we were kindred, somehow. 

I have subscribed to a lot of blogs that I love reading. But I have not subscribed to Anita's and Mayurakshi's blogs. I love opening their blogs with anticipation, not knowing what they would have posted. It is somewhat like unwrapping a gift, I guess. I hope they continue to write and inspire other girls, just as they inspired me.