Reacting to readers reactions to an article on reactions !

   At the very outset ,let me apologize for the tongue twister of a heading - I know it is very alliterative, but although I thought and thought ( with my thinking cap firmly perched on my head ) I absolutely could not escape the truism of the above sentence and so decided to go ahead with it. So, to begin from the beginning , it so happened that one  wintry, January evening, over a cup of steaming ginger tea, I  wrote a blog on reactions of family and my 'mali' to my Kitchen Garden Society meetings.(http://anjuscorner.blogspot.com/2014/02/reactions-to-my-kitchen-garden-society.html?spref=bl)The next day I went through the above mentioned blog and felt pretty happy about it- happy as in all chuffed up. In this happy and chuffed up state I googled out the email addresses of the  national newspapers  I admire / like to read, and dashed off my humble piece . Well, what do you know, on a miraculous Thursday one receives a mail stating that The Hindu is running the article on Sunday in its Open Page. I read the mail again  and re read it  - just so that in my addled state I was not mistaking a rejection slip for a yes. 

The piece did come out on Sunday and the husband and children showed the correct amount of excitement and  deference and the day went off well . Monday morning I sat down with my laptop to check my mail and basically flaff about on the net. Surprise, surprise- my inbox was full. A quick glance showed that most of the mails were re: ' your article in Hindu'. To confess , for a second I was torn between this sane voice urging me to junk all the Hindu mail and the other voice ,of course the devil's, egging me on to open the Pandora's box. What did I do ? Bit into temptation and opened the box and out tumbled the following reactions ( The best reaction is at the bottom of the pile) :

Reader 1:  "Hari Om! Anju, The 1000/ spent on Art Of Living is the Annual Income of the slums, the Life Long Income of the Beggars, what not in the poverty ridden India? ...Next, calm & relaxed & Floating state of mind can be achieved only if one is prepared to really control one's senses which comes not forcing one's mind but adopting to several means-say for example, ...No amount of money resources can provide all these. Rather one can do business taking advantage of man's sorrows & worries in the name of Art Of Living."

 Reader 2 : " Hello Madam:

I am introducing myself as a 80 yrs. old person devoting my time for Organic Roof Gardening.  I read your write up in The Hindu today i.e. 2nd Feb. 2014 titled "Those Kitchen Garden Society meetings and immediately I thought you will be the right person to take of publication of the importance of Home Gardening or Roof Gardening in organic way in The Hindu.  I am giving you a gist of my views and you can make your own programme of publishing such news/articles etc. periodically as a weekly item. " Reader 3 : " HELLO,YOU MAY WANT TO READ MY BOOK -- KARMA SUTRA-ADVENTURES OF A STREET BUM -- RELEASED BY HARPER COLLINS. AVAILABLE GLOBALLY ONLINE AND IN BOOKSHOPS. 
THE BOOK DETAILS TWO DECADES OF RESEARCH ON SEX WORK, TRAFFICKING, HIV/AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS, SEXUAL DISEASE, ALTERNATE SEXUALITY, CHILD LABOUR, HIJRAS, DEVADASIS, DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE, AND HOPELESSNESS AND DESOLATION ON THE INDIAN STREET.
REGARDS

Reader 4 :

"Dear Anju,

I am ____ residing at Chennai. I read your article in The Hindu Dt 2nd Feb. I would like to know more about KGS. Waiting to listen from you.
Regards,"

Reader 5 :

"greetings. How are you doing,  your article about kitchen garden society meetings are wonderful,  yes when we small veges like ladies finger, tomatoes, egg plant grow its like a decorations  around pleases the mind.

we had a small get to gather with girl children age between  than 6-11 year old,  on 24th Jan 2014 commemorating  GIRL CHILD DAY,  we explained why girls are so special in the eyes of DIVINE ALMIGHTY,... observance where we found equipping the girls in right direction is an opportunity . Please pray for the children. your comments and good wishes always expected. thanks "

Reader 6 "didn't able to comprehend what you exactly want to convey through your article in the hindu on 2 feb 2014. can u plzz expln?"

Reader 7

"Ma'm I just read the article written by you in The Hindu. Overall I found it very interesting and engaging. I must admire your sense of humour. You are a gifted writer and writing comes naturally to you. You should write more often so that avid readers like me can get a chance to relish a piece of your wits. I must commend the last paragraph of your article that made me spellbound and must have given your husband a shock and must have left him his mouth gaping wide open. Hope to read from your pen very soon. With all humility & Sincerety______________Patiala, Punjab"

Reader 8 "Dear Anju, We do not know each other but having read the reference in your article about my Uncle Gally's elder brother Clarence, I could not but help respond and offer my humble clarification; my offer to commend this piece to the BS&A Argus still stands. I am unsure if the below would pass muster with the worthies at the Hindu so thought I might indulge in this spot of presumptive activity on a lazy Sunday afternoon- and for a change, the sky in this neck of the woods today was a cornflower blue.
My congratulations on your Kitchen Garden Society article, I shall inform the Shropshire Agriculture Society about the emerging keen contest....With kind regards,

Lord Emsworth's retreat is called Blandings Castle and not Blandings House and he has a Head Gardner whose name happens to be Angus McAllister, he also has a pig man who oversees the nutrition of the Empress of Blandings and perhaps can tell you a thing or two on the subject of the manure that you refer to- his name is George Cyril Wellbeloved. Are you confusing the two? For the honourable Mr McAllister does not usually speak as much as your Mali in this article. He just "garumphs" according to Lord Emsworth. 

I shall report on you to Constable Evans who I should meet in the tap room of the Goat and Feathers in Market Blandings and I might commend this article be published in The Bridgnorth, Shifnal and Albrighton Argus, which as you are well acquainted is incorporated with the Wheat Growers Intelligencer and Stock Breeders Gazetteer."

I am still debating whether writing the article was more enjoyable or reading the reactions...