Happy Birthday, my Dear Lounge :)

The Writers Lounge is the place to be! And it has turned two – with the amount of involvement and the number of posts, it feels like it has turned twenty today!!

I joined TWL on December 09, 2008 – that was the day when Rain Drenched Lounge Contest was announced. I came here clicking on bloggers and their blogs. Browsing through blogs struck me gold! Anyways, I was here and when I was here, I saw the first post – the announcement of the contest. It was a first time for me and I just jumped in. I was so excited that I wrote the story in next 20 minutes and posted it in the comments field. I was no member that time. Then, Ste invited me and BANG!! I was in TWL!!!

From that time, there was no looking back… I came in – we met – a bunch of writers – most of them pretty younger to me, but far ahead in writing skills! I started experimenting with my writing. Started writing short stories and poems and tried to mould my mind and thoughts on various prompts. It was fun. It was fun to find TWL – it was fun to find you all. That was the time I started blogging like a maniac. I got past more than 30 posts a month during my association with TWL. Anyways, I got the continual support and encouragement from my friends here in the Lounge. And I moved on and on.

During the last 8 months of mine in Lounge, I met a lot of bubbly, talented and determined people. Got a few good friends who can easily be with me for the rest of my life! Enjoyed their companionship and their perennial togetherness – Stephen, Pratibha, Rashi, Vinay, Sandeep, Insiya, Asbah, Kajal, Chirag, Hashan, Bhargav and all others who have taught me a thing or two every time I visited this space. A few new friends – Mridu, Sonshu, Roshni (and her mother Sona), Nusrath and Ziyad, Arun, Fatima, Pulkit, Hina and a few more – have shown the talent is always there to be enjoyed while you are here. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for being here. I felt you are with me when I was here – and that feeling, trust me people, is out of the world. When you find souls you love out of unknown people, it gives immense pleasure. There are a few in the list who are very close to heart and will always be. Somehow, I feel still connected to you all.

I remember the midnight scribbles (though a very few) I shared here and the chain posts and poetic replies along with the Experimental Writings. These have given me a new perspective of writing and have proved to pave my words in a different way for sure. I learnt how to blog only after I joined TWL and started reading your blogs. You have given so much – I may not be able to retain! I know I have misinterpreted a few and must have made myself unclear to a few more, which in turn brought sorrow and silence – I dislike both – I apologize for any such things today. I meant no harm – I meant all happiness for you all in whatever way I could have.

Lastly, I would like to convey my regards to the Admins here who are doing a good job maintaining the blog and getting people together too. That’s wonderful in itself! Keep up the good work. I was impressed the way they used to take my advice, and I often felt like a bIg brOther… well, I am older than most of you and I love it when you call me ‘Dada’ but then, as long as we are writing here, we are all the same and for sure, no less than anyone here.

So mates, keep writing, keep blogging and keep lounging. For, the Lounge – The Writers Lounge – is the place to be, to you and to me, and one day you will all see, TWL will hold us together and set us free!

Happy Birthday TWL! Wish you a lot more similar days in the future. May you leave never and may I be with you all – forever! Amen!

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