Queue

Queue is the way of life in our nation.Everywhere one goes,there is queue.For paying a bill,there is a queue.At the enquiry counter,there is a queue.At the bus stop ,there is a queue.At the ticket counter ,there is a queue.At the examination centre ,there is  a queue.Even at the toilets,there is  a queue.For passport ,there is  a queue For immigration, there is a queue.Even one goes to cast a vote at the elections,there si a queue.Queue includes the plural ....that is many queues.

Why ? Why a queue ? Simply, because of such a huge population.Thanks to continous breeding ,there are so many people out there that a queue is the only solution.Yet this solution leads to many more problems.

Lots of time is wasted in the queue.If someone thinks ,that he can join queue ,get work done & be on other tasks at hand ,he is absolutely wrong ! Most of the times,when a person almost reaches the servicing counter,it is lunch time or closing time.So next ,that person has to make a new beginning.Many times,when a person has almost reached the counter,he is told that he was standing in the wrong queue.At other times,he will be made to realise that he forgot to include some documents,cash is only accepted,cheque is accepted,draft is only accepted & so on.

Some people think nothing of jumping the queue.Corruption is another issue in  queue.So queue may seem to create more problems instead of solving any.

Since lots of people are in the queue,people do end up fighting as well.This raises tempers & sometimes there is  a war going on .At other times,there could be wars going on.I recall, that I had gone to register for Aadhar.Some people started a fight about who should be served first.That was enough reason for the servicing staff to close the counter for the day !

Many have to take  off from their offices  to stand in such serpentine queues.They are just praying that their work gets done.More often than not,it gets spilled over.This leads to lots of bitterness.

Nowadays,many people pay bills online.Phone enquiries have made some dent.As technology improves & becomes widespread,hopefully ,queues will lesson.For the queue to go away ,there has to be strict population control.Technology & public participation has to go  hand in hand, in eliminating  the  queue !

This is my blog post for "Q " in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.

Sharing blog posts of fellow bloggers :

Suzy Que

Morgan Dragonwillow

The net.

I think the net has revolutionised the way we communicate with each other in the last ten years or maybe longer.I said last ten years because I understood this phenomena quite late & have got hooked ever since.

I email to all on my list without discrimination & also chat .I have signed up for twitter as also facebook.I have also started blogging.All this networking has helped me to fight loneliness & boredom.It has opened new doors for me ( not windows !).Like,I have started taking snaps of rangolis which I draw & created various albums with rangolis as a theme.Further,I have started inserting images of Rangolis on to my blog as well.This has also helped me in updating my soft skills.

I also keep searching for recipes needed on the net.This has led to discovering some very good blogs on cooking.This in turn has encouraged me also to try at being a blogger on cooking.I am really amazed that so many people  invest enormous amounts of time &  labor on their blogs.The cookery blogs are so vibrant with wonderful photos as an accompaniment.

I have formed a loop in which all my cousins & relatives get to see photos of extended family.I also update them about promotions,births,marriages in the extended family.In this age when ,we can no longer meet each other physically,this is the best way to keep in touch.

I was able to take part in an online novel writing contest last year as I read about it in the Times of India.Though,initially,I was unsure about the story,my  efforts, my perseverance lasting till the end,I was able to complete it . I even received a certificate from the organizers of the contest for successful participation & completion.All this has endeared the net to me.

I also read about an Indian site wherein,I had to upload my novel & I did that.The site is under repair now but till it worked,I pestered all my e-mates ( all on my email list ) to post their comments on the site.I  strongly suspect that my emates have a hand in the site undergoing repairs !I am sure that more than me,they want my book to be published so that I will get busy.Then,I will be tied up & there will be no bombardments from me.

But then I am   incorrigible ! Now,I have started posting my comments on  various sites.Then,I email all to inform them that my comment has gone live on the site.My e mates are fed up,I am sure of that.They are praying for  my computer to crash or maybe that  I go on a holiday etcetc.But then ,my addiction has reached such  a situation that I went to  cyber cafe  when my system was down.So there is no reprieve.

My brother insists, that we talk on the computer only as this is cheaper.With the web cam on,we can even look at each other as we talk.It is as good as meeting each other -of course, separated by screens.

Now,there is talk of email also disappearing as youngsters find it too be too slow.They are in favour of texting,messaging etal.That is why,even I have signed up on social networking sites.So,those of you,who thought that my mail will meet a slow end,beware! I am earnestly preparing for the next onslaught !

Reading attitude.

I took part in an online novel writing contest after Deepavali last year. The target was to write more than 50,000 words in one month from the 1st of the month till the last day of the month.

Though, I took this up mainly to test as to whether I can indeed write so many words,I did manage to finish it before the final day.When I took up writing the novel,I had no idea how it was all going to shape up.I just wrote on a day to day basis having calculated that I will have to write at least 1500 words on a daily basis.I just poured out all my feelings,anguish,loneliness,-in fact everything I felt.I knew that I was a novice & not creative & hence, I had to somehow pen in so many words if I wanted to succeed.In the midst of all this,I also began to doubt as to how would the novel end.I told my parents & friends the story in brief & asked them to suggest an ending.As the days passed,I realised that I wanted to give my novel an end full of hope- it had to be positive. I did end the novel on a very positive note.In this, I was helped by the fact, that the site wherein this contest was held,used to send us pep talks to keep our spirits awake if not high.

I was relieved, that I had completed the task at hand.I felt thrilled- I was a novelist -so what, if it was my debut novel.Now what ?I thought of approaching publishers with my debut novel but then I had to first get it all in print.My middle class upbringing forbid me to spend an uneconomic amount on such a pursuit as I had my doubts about the novel ever being even glanced at by a publisher.

I then, came across a site that publishes any book for free but online.So,I uploaded my novel on to the site & then emailed the link to all my friends,ex-colleagues-in fact everybody who was on my mailing list.I requested them to click on the link,sign up & comment as also rate the novel.Few did take the trouble of reading my novel & did as requested .I shall indeed remain indebted to them all my life.But by & large, my novel was ignored by the very people, I thought were my near & dear ones.

The reasons given by many was that as soon as they read the book,they would surely comment but they omitted to state that they neither had the inclination nor the time to heed to my repeated pleas.When I argued, that they can comment in short even in a word or two,they replied, that unless they read,they wouldn't be able to do that.I was elated that by their brutal honesty in these deceitful times ! I was of the opinion that honesty was a relic of a bygone era.

Their frank comments are still awaited. The result, is that my book remains online only.My hubby has very diplomatically steered clear of investing in his wife's venture by saying ,"It is better that some publisher takes it up-they are experts -they will market it as well."

I have realized now, that I erred, by asking people to comment & rate the novel by reading it ! Actually,I am glad in a way, that the book is published online only.Marketing a printed book will be a daunting task given the attitudes,I have come across so far.I am certain, that I will end up paying people who take efforts to read it.

So it is going to be grossly uneconomical, so,I better leave it at that !