Sep 21
There is a feeling of - dare I permit myself ? - satisfaction that I feel today. The blog ( ARMSASCI) has completed 3018 page views as we go to the press. Three months back , on 9th Jun Profs Bagchi and Mahadik came to the class and told us that we have to maintain a blog. The only term of reference being that we have to make allowance for the daily occurrences in the class, True to their word they did not interfere in the actual blog . Other than the fact that they kept tabs by reading it. The thing that most saddened me was none of the people who read the blog offerred much of a feedback initially.I suppose that it was the wait and watch policy as to where we were going with this narration on a daily basis.
During the posting of the blog a variety of topics were tackled. The distinguished staff, my fellow participants, social issues, festivals, interviews of foriegn participants in the many programmes conducted at ASCI and current affairs . Many of the participants also contributed to the blog - notable among the being Jagpal, Banjo, Himanshu, Sandhya and also in a rarest of rare occassions Prof Mahadik . The endeavour being to include as many viewpoints as possible , so as to make the blog multi dimensional and not uni dimensional, Initially the response to the blog was quite lukewarm. The number of views did not amount to much. But we persisted. Soon our persistence started to pay off. The blog became a daily read for many at the ASCI. While the reading was restricted to only the participants of ARMSASCI programme in the beginning ,it gained impetus after the first fifteen days with all the staff and others who had come in contact with the course either in the class room or the dining hall or participants of the other courses reading it. In fact many of my coursemates in the training academy who were on the verge of retiring when they asked me about what the course was all abouut I directed them to read the blog to learn about the course.
Some of the more popular blogs and their readership are as listed above. It was with the view of ensuring that the blog did not become stale that we included an interesting series called "Back To The Future". This series speculated on the ARMSASCI participants future employment after hanging up their boots. We also wrote about the various visits in field and these were read avidly. Many guest lecturers who visited us for informing us about job prospects also found mention in the blog. In the past three and a half months some of us distinguished themselves by getting involved in various activities . Notable among these were the study done by GJ Rao on prevention of suicide. The way to prevent suicides- which we fondly call the 'Jagadish Model' was adopted by the Telangana government. Sivaram pursuing his passion of bicycling touching new heights by completing 600 kms in 23hours. Himanshu participated in the half Marathon and completed it in good time. The others are still at it and I have no doubt that they will soon provide ammunition for this blog in times to come.
There is a feeling of - dare I permit myself ? - satisfaction that I feel today. The blog ( ARMSASCI) has completed 3018 page views as we go to the press. Three months back , on 9th Jun Profs Bagchi and Mahadik came to the class and told us that we have to maintain a blog. The only term of reference being that we have to make allowance for the daily occurrences in the class, True to their word they did not interfere in the actual blog . Other than the fact that they kept tabs by reading it. The thing that most saddened me was none of the people who read the blog offerred much of a feedback initially.I suppose that it was the wait and watch policy as to where we were going with this narration on a daily basis.
During the posting of the blog a variety of topics were tackled. The distinguished staff, my fellow participants, social issues, festivals, interviews of foriegn participants in the many programmes conducted at ASCI and current affairs . Many of the participants also contributed to the blog - notable among the being Jagpal, Banjo, Himanshu, Sandhya and also in a rarest of rare occassions Prof Mahadik . The endeavour being to include as many viewpoints as possible , so as to make the blog multi dimensional and not uni dimensional, Initially the response to the blog was quite lukewarm. The number of views did not amount to much. But we persisted. Soon our persistence started to pay off. The blog became a daily read for many at the ASCI. While the reading was restricted to only the participants of ARMSASCI programme in the beginning ,it gained impetus after the first fifteen days with all the staff and others who had come in contact with the course either in the class room or the dining hall or participants of the other courses reading it. In fact many of my coursemates in the training academy who were on the verge of retiring when they asked me about what the course was all abouut I directed them to read the blog to learn about the course.
Prof Mahadik in a moment of candour told us that as faculty they expected the blog to die its own natural death after a few posts - of course -he also was happy that this was not the case. And we are happy that we proved him wrong. I also take this oppurtunity to thank all contributors to the blog either directly or indirectly to make it a grand success
Congratulations! Wish this blog to continue even after the course at ASCI
ReplyDeleteGood summing up. Great going. Although, you mentioned that it is due to others contribution as well, in reality, it is one man's show ie., that of Col Ravi. Congrats and Thanks. GJ Rao
ReplyDeleteRavi sir the way u write and others have contributed to the blog and the detailed and live description makes it interesting to read it daily/religiously.
ReplyDeleteWell deserved viewing for the ongoing efforts of Ravi. Of course, it is worth reading and hence followed by numerous - not even remotely connected to the ongoings at ASCI. One little clarification / amendment - my cycling efforts: it was 400km under 24 hrs and 600km was under 39 hours.
ReplyDeleteAre we near a century of posts? We must be I guess..
ReplyDeleteAre we near a century of posts? We must be I guess..
ReplyDeleteAre we near a century of posts? We must be I guess..
ReplyDelete