I Lost!

Dear Sridhar,
I'm not competent enough to console you or older enough to advice you.
My Request to you:

Why not feed the hungry ILites with that story(road run shop) rather than feeding the so called Big judges and writers who write the high -end(Eating at Five star hotel minus morality).


You are IL's Super Hero!!!

Dear Sridhar Sir,

Comeonnn Sir, how can you loose, u have won the hearts of many Ilites with ur writings,dont worry and you will win the next...

Cheer up Sir!!!


PS: would love to read the story if u dont have any objection of posting it here.

Dear Saraswathy,

thanks a lot for your post. I remember what Osho had to say about these modern art paintings. He comments on Piccaso's paintings. Most of them are masterpieces, no doubt about it. But the problem is they are way above our understanding and comprehension.

Osho says many Americans hang original Piccasos in their homes without knowing how to appreciate it. They don't even know which is the right way to hang the picture. And he adds, many of Piccaso's pictures looke the same even when you hang them upside down.

Whatever it is, I don't want to belittle the great masters both in painting and writing. I just want to say that I paint only sceneries, gods, goddesses, children, women and the like. Cubism, abstract painting, post modernism etc is not exactly my cup of tea.

Whatever I have I will give to IL. I will never hold back my abilities from the ILites. That's for sure.

Thanks Saraswathy for your post.
regards,

Dear Kamla,

The soft, soothing post was quite typical of you. And after seeing so many beautiful responses from our ILites, I now realise that there is a reason in my losing. How else could I enjoy the love of so many wonderful women spread all over the world?

Vidya has said it beautifully...you had a winning streak going, sometimes, losing is also part of the game. Why, you yourself have described about the hand of fate in your last episode of He...how when one clears the slate clean, the fate is waiting at the wings to jump in!

That's true, Kamla. I think I needed some balancing and needed some lessons in humility. Deccan Herald provided both in a single stroke.

Having lost to some high-end writing my commenting on it will be crying 'sour grapes'. But I did not know that this was a competition for high-end writing. DH has been regularly publishing all my stories. In fact they have not rejected even a single story. Only after DH published my story The Promise, my name started to appear on all the blog sites of the world. As you know very well I came to IL in 2005 because Shakthi posted the story from DH on this site.

So I thought this competition was going to be for stories of the type I write. That was my mistake.

Similarly, I know who the winner is here. You!
You are beyond winning and losing now Sridhar. You are a writer with your own inimitable style and fan following.

Thanks, Kamla. These statements are food enough for my soul for all time to come. Thanks once again,
Love,

That was a great post, Sharada.

One great consolation in this defeat is that I am sailing along with somebody like you.

I came to know about the competition only through you. And I still remember the poetic lines you wrote in the covering letter when you mailed the entry forms,

"Your entry will be a hard one to beat.
But with the best I like to compete."

I have filed that piece of paper and whenever I am down I have a glance at it to refresh myself.

Varalotti, we may have lost this competition - but who knows better awards (the Booker perhaps!) may be awaiting us! This is just the fall before we rise sphinx-like, dramatically.
Cheer up, you are in exalted company!

Thanks, Sharada. Yes, I am in exalted, exciting company.
regards,

Dear Aishwarya,
You may not be old enough or competent enough, but you are loving enough, and that is what you need for consoling some one.

Why not feed the hungry ILites with that story(road run shop) rather than feeding the so called Big judges and writers who write the high -end(Eating at Five star hotel minus morality).


You are IL's Super Hero!!!

Thanks a lot Aishwarya for these kind words.

regards,

Dear Sreelatha,
thanks a lot. I never thought so many of you will come visit this thread to cheer me up. When I got the news yesterday I felt totally let down. As I was in IL at that time, I opened a thread and vented out.

Thanks a lot for being with me and for being there for me.

There are some copyright issues with the story. I will have it clarified with DH and then post the story.
regards,

Sridhar Sir,

I m not older enough to console you..... but as a fan of yours i can assure that your words are always a run away hit in IL..... there are no questions on that...... opinions might differ elsewhere........ but in IL we have only one opinion that your works are always - THE BEST ............. You might have lost in a competition but you have many hearts here.......

Cheers,
Rohini

Dear Rohini,

After reading the many posts here in this thread I am now convinced that this defeat has actually been a blessing for me. God wanted to show me how I am being loved by the ILites. And then made me lose in the competition.

Actually I would have been a very sad man had I won the competition there but had not won the hearts of ILites. Thanks Rohini for those kind words which mean a lot to me at this moment.

regards,

Dear Sridhar,
First let me tell you this,'Whenever we lose, it is to prepare us for a better victory'. Sorry, I should not be telling you this because you are a master in the philosophies of life while I am still learning, learning more philosophies of life even through your stories. And as you have yourself said, the judges may have been looking for a specific thing in the entries and when they found that, they selected it. Tastes vary from individual to individual. For example, I may be invited for a lunch where my tastes/likes/dislikes may be diagonally opposite to that of the host. That happens even at home where each individual has preferences of his own. And when the topic is an open one then judging too becomes difficult. I remember the times when I have been judged and when I was a judge too. Many a time I have participated in singing competitions and won prizes and lost too. Of course they were not the high end category. But I know that I am a good singer and I have enough fans who love to hear my voice. I also remember having contributed a poem 'From womb to tomb' (which is also posted in a thread in IL) for a poetry contest. (The theme given was to write anything about women).The best entry that was selected was a poem which narrated a rape incident in a poetic style. So everything rests with the judge's tastes and preferences. By this I do not want to say that my poem was good enough to win a prize.
Then I had opportunities to judge on various occasions like music,recitation, paintings, Rangoli etc. Judging for a music competition is comparitively easier than judging anything else. Like in Rangoli, there were beautiful ones done by +2 children. Some of them had done using flowers like in Kerala. Now I was in a dilemma whether to consider them as Rangoli or not since Rangoli originally meant using colour powders. Ultimately I decided to disqualify the floral ones though they were beautiful. Now, what would those children have thought of me, I wonder. I asked the school authorities if the prizes could be given away in both categories but they refused.So, I had no choice.
As long as we are accepted by people who admire our way of doing things, nothing else matters. Yes, I do agree, it hurts. And WHY? Is it because we love ourselves more than any one else? I beg to get an answer to this question.
I am sure you know Amitabh Bacchan's story, how his voice was rejected by AIR and for that same voice he became famous! And you must be knowing umpteen persons of that class yourself!
Regards,
Malathi

P.S Please take note of my signature!