How do we attach value to things? Economists tell you it depends on demand and supply. This is why the currencies and gold are constantly being assessed, and we start valuing Gold, Pounds and Dollars. The less worldly amongst us value things for their emotional quotient, a gift given by your dear friend, a drawing of your child, a mother's touch, a friend's word, a song.
Time has come for me to assess what MS means to me. Initially it was a forum that allowed me to read some good stuff and also post some of mine. Then it became a goldmine for the variety of great friends I made here, Usman, Alok, Sanjoy, Abha, Smita, Ramya, Shanti, Swati, Ipsi, Shalini, Pri, Nik, Ratna, Chippi, Sourav, Rohit, Amit, Santhosh, Sudipto, Bluegrapes (many more- forgive me if I have missed a dear name) last but never the least Vee. These are the gems of people I will always be friends with, whether over email, blog, phone or whatever.
It is a mystery to me what the guidelines are for MS, I have no idea why a review becomes an ROTD or a Hot Review. Why a person was suddenly singled out for a Star Writer or for a Hall of fame. Who decided winners to a contest and who sent them across. Equally mystifying is the occasional deletion of a review, and even a Star Status. Some writers can bore you to tears with their frequent tasteless offerings, and MS happily gives them a Star. Some people are everywhere, as ubiquitous as a SPAM mail, but MS seems to smile on them. These indifferent standards, lack of quality control, and arbitary decisions (stripping stars/deleting reviews without any reason assigned) are the things I dislike about MS.
Just a few days back I mentioned to a friend how some shopping centres and hangout zones in my city seemed to lose their sheen. In Delhi Connaught Place and the Pallika Bazaar were THE places to shop, now hardly anyone goes there. I dont know how it happens over time, maybe people need something new to refresh their taste buds. For me, MS has lost its sheen, my dear friends are not much in evidence, and I dont have time or taste or energy to gel with the new ones.
So here it is atlast .. ALVIDA
