Game of blogs: as it happened.

When I got mail from blogadda for the registration of game of blogs I was in train to Mumbai. I was about to begin my new job from next day so for that there was training conducted in Mumbai for 17 days. I read that mail and decided to register as soon as I reach the hotel as it was a great opportunity for me to get along with other bloggers and learn some or the other things from them. It was going to help my aspirations of writing a book which I was planning for quite some time.

I reached Mumbai and got busy in knowing new colleagues, roommates and training and forgot about the mail. Then twitter reminded me of that mail again after 4-5 days. I registered myself on blogadda next moment, but by then I was bit late for it. The next day I came to know that teams are prepared, the characters are announced around which story is to be made. So I thought I had lost this opportunity as well. Blogadda invited Meghna Pant on twitter to interact with its users. In that session I asked her a few questions and forgot about game of blogs.

Next evening there was mail from Anmol Rawat. It was a forward from blogadda that I am replacing one of the inactive team member in his team. I was really happy that finally I am a part of game of blogs. I still remember I mailed Anmol thrice until Prerna added me in the group that much excited I was. By the time I was introduced to the group everything was decided group name, which way the story will go etc. I just had to do my part. In the group everyone was an excellent writer and everybody was new to me as I am not an avid reader. It was a challenge for me as I write about my personal experiences I never made a story around five chracters. I always had a story and characters all I do is just change it a bit all the time. Moreover, I realized that I am not as poetic as they all are and my imagination also stops at a certain point. Ok, now let's see how the journey had gone round by round.

Round One:

By the time I joined the WhatsApp group round one was started. All the people Anmol, Preethi, Tina, Soumyaa, Ashutosh, Prerna & Ramanathan accepted me in the group graciously. I didn't know what they had planned, how the story will go and all. I tried to know that in the group. It was Soumyaa first who texted me next day actually she wanted a help as some chaos was created in the group and I was really sorry that I couldn't help her as I didn't really knew what they have planned.

Anmol sent the mail and explained me the way story was going to go and which part I had to write. I was really surprised by his imagination and his ability to play with characters. He gave an excellent start to the story. Now the challenge for me was to give words to his imagination. Apart from that to find a time to write as during training I was surrounded by so many people and I was finding my corner to sit and write. So I decided to write it at night when everybody(including my room mates) sleeps. Then I have to find a day in training when it doesn't matter if my mind is not active. So I chose a day of accounting which was strength. I stayed awake a night before and wrote my chapter of first round. I gave my chapter for editing at 6 a.m. so that our editors Tina and Preethi gets ample time to edit. Moreover I only had my mobile on which I had to do everything which was bit difficult so I gave Tina the admin rights of my blog to make necessary last minute changes and she still has those admin rights. this is how round one got finished.

Round two:

By the time round two began, I was back home with the letter to join immediately at Anand branch of the company. Anand is one hour away from Ahmedabad that means I had to do up down. So the first week goes into finding out trains and all. When I was busy in this Preethi was giving her day and night to the story. She did the research and gave the alien touch to the story. It was really tough round for me as daily commuting and getting use to the new things use to drain my whole energy everyday. I got my part to write on from Preethi and I decided to write it in train. You can't write in train until you have got the window seat and in the morning I got that and I began it well. I carried on with it in office as well but when I reached to the last part I didn't got the seat in train. Everytime I used to think of something I was being pushed by some or the other person in the opposite direction and my phone was about to die as well. So I finished it anyhow and handed over to Tina again. She certainly was my life guard in this journey. Preethi was the one who took the story forward in an superb manner and as a result we got second rank in the second round.

Round three:

It was the best round, it started when I had five days off in a week. I was ready to give my everything to the content which I had got from Preethi and I tried my best to reach the standards which Preethi wanted me to get to. I gave it one whole night but it did not impressed Preethi much so I gave it another five to six hours to it and then submitted it our super editor Preethi then she made the changes and gave back to me in some other format altogether. Preethi's research on aliens was superb and while writing my chapter of last round I actually started believing in it as a reader. I think that's the power of our story.
I feel I have contributed the least in this team effort and I was the most silent member in the group as well. I actually started talking about other things in the group after the completion of all three rounds. Now I want to put some light on everyone's contribution in this.

Anmol- the person who makes his living from writing and an aspiring author has given his nights on this story. Writing, editing, submitting extra chapters, bringing everyone together and leading from the from the front he has done everything. Dude, the leader is one who directs the team performance in one direction and you did that well. So don't run away from that.

Ashutosh- a student and a mad cricket fan like me. He contributed in the best possible manner he could have. His chapters were awesome. Ashu, thanks man for that Samar wala tweet and I hope you will change the password of your account soon.

Preethi- an author, that itself is an achievement. While I have only given my couple of nights on the story she has given her every night to it since it has started. She forgot her bad health, she even worked on her anniverssary. Preethi, you are the strongest pillar of our team and you truly deserve to win this.

Prerna- a co-owner of the PR company(if I am not wrong) and huge fan of Deepika Padukone. She is the admin of our group and her contribution is also commendable. She is going to call Deepika on our book launch. Prerna, I know I have talked a lot against Deepika in the group but I know what it takes to reach at that place where she is now so don't take it seriously.

Soumyaa- a student who changes her DP every half an hour. She has worked on the story after coming from Garba in Navratri. It shows this girl's commitment and dedication towards the task. Soumyaa, I know how tiring it is to work after dancing so slow for hours. Good job.

Tina- a marketing officer in Brittania and a huge Hrithik fan. While I have made all the excuses above about my work and all she is the one who mixed her work well with this task. She worked on it while travelling, in the office, while driving etc. Her commitment is also commendable. If I get drained as a person after working then she too but she kept it aside for the story. Tina, I know how tiring it is when you do both things together so great job done and thanks for being my life guard.

Ramnathan- Ram sir has been more silent than me in the group but I know he did his job well. So I won't be able to say much about him. Ram sir, sorry for that.

In the end, I just want to thank blogadda for giving me such wonderful friends from whom I have learnt a lot. I hope to adopt some qualities from them and apply it in my life and my writing aspirations.

BlogAdda Game of Blogs: Team ByLines - Chapter 22

Read the previous chapter here 

Chapter 22

The song of the plants had changed into the sound of chirping birds - their morning raga. Cyrus was lost in thoughts. The information that Haides had conveyed was disturbing his otherwise calm mind.

Cyrus watched Aryan who was sleeping on the chair next to him. Midway through his talk with Haides, he had send subtle thought suggestions that had sent Aryan to sleep. The pupils that were moving left and right under his closed eyelids told Cyrus that he was dreaming.

Cyrus smiled when he understood that he was starring in a rescue drama that was running in Aryan’s mind’s eye. He wished it was as easy as that- A small confrontation that would send the gray aliens running for cover. It was time Aryan got out of his dreams and helped him equip human race to face the catastrophe that would catch them unawares.

“Aryan, Aryan, Get up. It is ten in the morning,” Cyrus called, and Aryan slowly opened his eyes. He took a moment to adjust to the strange surrounding. The visuals from his dream had disoriented his perception of reality. But the presence of Cyrus jolted his memory immediately.

"Are the gray aliens going to arrive in seven days?" asked Aryan, remembering the conversation he had heard before he had fallen asleep.

"Yes," replied Cyrus, as though that was a simple declaration.

“How did it get so late, so soon?” murmured Aryan, willing himself to think and be brave. But the thought that he had just a week left to live, left him shattered. But not only him, the whole of human race would face its end.

"We didn’t anticipate this. As winter arrives in the southern hemisphere in June every year, a vortex of winds develops around the pole and isolates the polar stratosphere. When temperatures drop below -78°C thin clouds form of ice, nitric acid, and sulphuric acid mixtures. Chemical reactions in the clouds release active forms of CFCs depleting Ozone, and almost immediately the ozone “hole” appears over Antartica.

Over the course of two to three months till September, approximately 50% of the total column amount of ozone in the atmosphere disappears. This year the losses have approached 90%. Antarctic ozone hole has become the largest ever till date. The gray aliens are planning to utilize this opportunity to maximum," Cyrus said, conveying the core of what Haides had disclosed.

“Isn’t there a way to stop them? And why are the people of the world not yet aware of it? Our space agencies have powerful telescopes that watch out for threats like asteroids that might arrive even years later. Why then are they not preparing people for this catastrophe?” asked Aryan, voicing the many questions that were popping into his mind.

“The type of space travel that the gray aliens adopt is far different from what humans know and perceive. They simply stop existing at one location and begin existing at another location. It is like; one moment they are there in their planet and next moment appear just near earth. How can any telescope detect that?” asked Cyrus.

“But how can that happen? In all the years that I have studied astro-physics and done my research on aliens, I have never come across any such knowledge. Can you explain how they do that?” asked Aryan, eager for any new piece of knowledge.

“Do you really need to know now? We have far more important things to discuss Aryan,” said Cyrus, waving off the question.

“Please, do explain Cyrus. Otherwise, I will continue racking my brain trying to figure it out,” pleaded Aryan.

“Ok, I will try to make it simple. Man thinks of objects as existing at a location. The gray aliens think of location as one of the properties of an object. If you look at an object as if it has a frequency-equation as its signature, it has a component that represents the location of the object. What they do is that they change the location component of the equation of the object from ‘location A’ to ‘location B’. Within a moment the spaceship stop existing at point A and start existing at point B,” explained Cyrus.

Aryan blinked trying to digest the seemingly simple explanation that Cyrus gave. It was still Greek and Latin to Aryan. But how could one change the location component of something as vast as a spaceship? And what was the technology that they would use to accomplish that? Questions after question kept surfacing in Aryan’s mind. Cyrus shook his head reading Aryan’s many thoughts.

"Aryan, time is precious now. Every passing second is important. I promise, I will answer every single one of your question once this danger passes. Yes, undoubtedly we will find a way out of this danger. But for that I need help from every single source that I can think of. More than anything, we need to make Tara realize that she is Clariota. She is someone who is capable of facing any number of gray aliens single handedly," Cyrus said. From the way Cyrus spoke confidently about Clariota, Aryan gleaned that hope was still shining bright.

“I am ready to do anything that will help Tara; I mean Clariota, realize her powers. Tell me Cyrus, What I should do?” asked Aryan.

“I have made the visuals from Tara’s past from my memory into a video CD, something you can play in their house. It has hidden messages embedded in it that will cause Tara to remember that she is Clariota. All you have to do is to convince Shekhar, Jennifer and Tara to view it. If she views even half of the recording, she will become ready to be awakened again. I can then go ahead with her awakening. The shield that she has built to block the telepathic communications with us will wither down due to the subtle codes embedded in the video recording,” said Cyrus, and handed over to Aryan a VCD that looked like any other normal CD.

“What if this fails?” asked Aryan.

“You won’t fail. They will be ready to believe you,” assured Cyrus.

Aryan got up, ready to leave. Just then, a panel on the wall slid open revealing an arched opening. Cyrus smiled as though he had seen someone whom he was eager to meet and murmured, “We are saved.”

Aryan stared at the opening waiting for someone to emerge.

Cyrus rushed towards the arch and exclaimed.

“Welcome back Great Master. I am so relieved.”

Aryan blinked and then shook his head as though to clear his head.  Cyrus was talking to thin air.

Read the next Chapter here

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 “Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.”