Writing a Book

Billion Dollar Deals! Writer escapes to Bahama on a Private Jet! Long queues for autograph signing!

Splash - That's my bucket splash for waking you up from a dream. But then, who am I to wake someone up from a dream. A hopeless dreamer who is always restless in the daily grind of life.

The news around publishing is exciting and a Writer is always searching for excuses to write.

Here are my top 5 reasons on why you should write a book:

1. Get Rich: Just search for the phrase "Rich Writers" on the Web and you will come to know the money they are making. A Billion dollar for J K Rowling, that's like a 100-1000 strong IT organization working towards endless software releases. And you, only you can change that with your words.

2. Escape a Day Job: Do you wonder through your days trying to escape those meetings, the endless hours behind the sales counter, making that 1000th thankless call to customers, cleaning up table after table, waiting for customers. There is no promise of an easy ride post a book, but it's an escape you can plot. After all, hope is a great thing!

3. Hell of a Pickup Line: Fine! You wrote a book and didn't mint money, or escaped your day job, but it can be one pickup line that's always impressive. I know that for sure :P

4. Literary Contribution: So, getting a little serious about this. With due respect to our set of great current writers and the legends before. They toiled hard to give us ideas, theories, intellect, knowledge and so much more. We must contribute to their words, to their efforts and produce good rather great works of arts.

5. Your Own Story: Someone broke your heart, left you high and dry, you saw an empire fall, even better made an empire fall, saw something magical, fell in love with a stranger, came over a dreaded disease or saved someone's life. It's worth telling the world! Writers procrastinate endlessly about whether people will like their story or not. Put it up there, let them decide!

McLeodganj : The town that mesmerizes

I am a Blogger and Writer brought up in Delhi. Delhi's streets are magical, you can learn so much from Delhi and the everyday suspense keeps me forever curious by throwing a surprise after surprise. Be it a monument like Agrasen ki Baoli, a food corner in the busy market of Karol bagh, or a theatre performance at Mandi House. There is that one new thing to be discovered every week. But, sometimes the pace and the traffic jams get to me and I want to explore quiet, surprise, and something more that travel offers.

I research and quickly zeroed in on a travel destination. Mcleodganj, it was. I had heard about the tranquil and different colors this place has to offer. It was next on my travels.

Reaching there

I planned a week in advance.  Of the two routes you can take, one is a train from Delhi to Pathankot and the other a direct Volvo to Dharamshala. I wanted to take the later. The HPTDC Volvo buses offer a comfortable and good bus ride, I had heard. But, their website can be a bit problematic at times so I travelled to their office at Connaught place, Delhi and booked the tickets.

The Volvo buses leave from the busy bus terminus at Kashmere Gate, Delhi. Be alert and early to catch your bus, you see so many buses and it’s a bit of a walking through a maze to find your ship to the island. The ride’s comfortable. Going with a light stomach and eating less on the way helps during this 12-14 hour long bus journey.

The bus reaches the Dharamshala bus stand at 6-7 am in the morning, then you can take an auto rickshaw or take one of the taxis to your place of stay in McLeodganj. A word of caution, a lot of hotels are not operational by 10-11 am and you might want to call and check this before booking from the internet. I spent a good chilly 4 hours outside the hotel since the bus reached earlier than usual. No complaints, all part of the adventure.  If only I wish, hotels could manage shorter duration check-ins.

Stay at the ‘chowk’:

I checked into a hotel called Hotel Asian Plaza, Mcleodganj. Good hotel, located right at the chowk. The view of the rest of the Mcleodganj is also good if you manage to get a hotel room with such a view.

Their food’s good.

Slurrp and Biurrp
Mcleodganj offers some of the best Italian, Tibetan, Chinese, and other food options. My personal favorite and a definite recommendation for everyone is the Nick’s café. Wonderful Italian and continental options.

Nick’s café:

                                                

Pineapple bread

Now I saw this is the staple food. (I arrived in Mcleodganj pretty early in the day remember.) Many college goers, wage workers, tourist, they eat this. I could not get a photograph of it, I was so lost eating every bit of it. Its fresh pineapple pieces inside the bread. Just, out of the world!

Stay around, do nothing

It is a perfect town where you can just roam around with a book, stop by at the cafes, absorb the weather and do nothing!

Or, do a lot.