My latest book is The One Who Swam With The Fishes.

"A mesmerizing account of the well-known story of Matsyagandha ... and her transformation from fisherman’s daughter to Satyavati, Santanu’s royal consort and the Mother/Progenitor of the Kuru clan." - Hindustan Times

"Themes of fate, morality and power overlay a subtle and essential feminism to make this lyrical book a must-read. If this is Madhavan’s first book in the Girls from the Mahabharata series, there is much to look forward to in the months to come." - Open Magazine

"A gleeful dollop of Blytonian magic ... Reddy Madhavan is also able to tackle some fairly sensitive subjects such as identity, the love of and karmic ties with parents, adoption, the first sexual encounter, loneliness, and my favourite, feminist rage." - Scroll



Sign up for my newsletter: The Internet Personified

7 August 2005

Video killed the radio star

I really don't get why the media in India has just woken up to blogging. I mean, hello, it's been around for ages, my own is a fairly new blog and it's been inhabiting cyberspace for a year now. We all know blogs exist, even the most techphobic people. I know several people who don't know a blog as a "blog" but still have an MSN Spaces page where they write about their days and upload their pictures. (They call them their "spaces" though, to be fair, and not their weblogs). I don't know about you, but in a funny way I feel validated, recognised now, like all those schools you used to see "Happy Rabbit's Day School, Govt. Recg.", which helped me learn at a very early age that if something had to say government recognised outside, then it probably wasn't worth going to at all.


Perhaps I should hang a little signboard here too. Perhaps all of who have been quoted or mentioned in the newspapers should. `Media Recognised'. We count. We've made it. We're spreading the word of the blog. But do I really believe that? I'm not so sure.




Yesterday, I was interviewed by NDTV (*happy TV announcer voice* catch me and a bunch of other bloggers, including some really famous ones on Sunday at 9!) If you do decide to watch it, please, pretty please, remember that I was really nervous and I've never done this sort of thing before, and if I sound slightly arrogant or full of myself, I'm really, really not! But doing the interview was pretty fun, once I got used to the fact that I had to stay still so that my silhouette wouldn't get screwed up (I don't care how many people know who I am! I'm still anonymous!) And they had this whole Oprah-style microphone which I had to slip in under my clothes. (Terrible moment, when I was taking it off and it got stuck in my bra and everyone waited patiently while I tugged and grew progressively more blushy.) I felt like some spy giving information and all. Anyway, the interview went pretty well---and it gave me a chance to talk ON CAMERA, BABY about blogging for a long time without anyone shutting me up. Now I just hope you can't see too much of my face! :)



By the way, I have it on good information (read: I asked the interviewer) who the other bloggers are. So *drum roll* you'll be able to see Hurree Babu, the Duck and the Jabberwock. All on prime time TV! You lucky, lucky souls :)



And here's where the real reason for this post happens, and I need a big favour. I'm doing an *ahem* blog story (hypocrisy, thy name is eM) on women bloggers who get propositioned or asked vague stuff, just because they're girls and are available online. (No, I can't quote myself, or I would've). If you know someone, or this has ever happened to you, please email me. (Email is right over there on the sidebar, baby). Please? If you're a boy and you've been propositioned that'll work too. I have emailed some people already, so if it's you and you haven't replied to your email yet, hurry up! *END BLOG PIMPING*


And K called me last night. I had called him the other day, to shoot the breeze, generally fuck around, because this was the day of Heap Big Rain and Traffic Lights Not Working and so there was a terrible jam. So jokingly I said, "Dude, man, we should totally get back together. Think of the convinience! It'll be like a business proposition--and we'll always have company on Saturday night." Usually, one or the other of us does this and we laugh and it's all very funny only this time he goes, "Heh. Yeah. Listen I'll call you back." So maybe he's just in an off mood I think, and go back to negotitiating my way around the Qualis that has decided to break down in my lane.


Anyway, I was at TC last night, to get a quick drink after the interview, with Nitya and K calls and I have to run up near the loo to take his call because I can't hear him anywhere else. And we're saying hello and everything and suddenly he blurts out, "eM you know I'm dating Wannabe Lisa Loeb, right?"
"I know you're having a scene," I say cheerily. That's me, the repository of information. Always on top of things.
"Um... no, I'm dating her. We're.... dating," he says warily.
I take a moment. And then say, "Oh, that's fabulous, K! I'm so happy for you! Congratulations! You must tell me all about it, later."
He's grinning over the phone lines I can tell, "Yeah, it all happened so fast and it's so great and I didn't have a chance to tell you earlier."
"No, no, that's cool," I say. My face is beginning to ache from smiling so much. "I can tell you've been busy--ha, ha, ha--I can't wait to meet Wonder Woman. We should talk soon."
"Yeah," he's all happy now. He hates scenes, K does. That's why it took him so long to dump me. "I'll call you eM. Have a good time."


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Yeah, I'm done.

19 comments:

  1. Well after all you did show your face on TV. And all that nakhra during my shoot. Grrh...

    ReplyDelete
  2. her face will be blurred, so the mystery wont die. incidentally, eM is VERY well known in real life, so you should just start guessing

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh you will be my favourite favourite Celebrity Blogger?! Much Coolness...

    Your proposed Blog Story sounds interesting, very interesting actually! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. motheater: It's cool :) I'm sure if you called and said "Hello it's Real Name from Real Job" I probably would take a while to get used to that also :)

    ab: No, no face showing. And even more nakhra than your shoot. Hehehehe.. I LOVE being spoilt celeb type :)

    tritteinin: Actually I'm really scared that NO ONE will come back after watching the show. Oh no, oh no *quietly freaks out*

    samit: Aw shucks. *blush, blush* We may be slightly well known (read: notorious) in our own social circles but nowhere compared to your own, surely? :)

    dee: Yes, yes, flippancy out of my anguish, why not? Next we'll paint a lovely picture out of the blood that's spouting out of my heart :)

    primal: Ooooh, you have a story?? Tell, tell, PLEASE? :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. They cut the story short !! Why Why why ??? But I did see your blog flash across the screen !

    ReplyDelete
  6. That doesn't mean they canned the story. It will repeat, surely. But the question is... when? So please update us!! (And tell them to place the right anchor lead with the right story this time!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. They must repeat. The BlogWorld demands it. Technical difficulties, my foot.

    We want eM on TV !!! All silhouette, smoky rings, swinging light bulb, the works.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You've been interviewed on TV?! When oh when will I... wait, no, actually the thought of having my cover blown on national broadcast scares the crap outta me.

    By the way... when your ex meets somebody new, that's usually when you find you can close that chapter. At least, that's what I've discovered.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wannabe Lisa Loeb? Ugh. Tell him only Lisa Loeb can pull of that look!

    ReplyDelete
  10. "and if I sound slightly arrogant or full of myself, I'm really, really not!"

    .... dear me!! aren't u a journalist no more :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dear all,
    You've probably guessed that the story was cut short by now. Damn :( My net connection at home isn't working (re-damn) and so I'm hoping and praying the internet gods will do something about it. Many exciting stories, by the way :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. eM, for random comments that have zero connection to what you blog about, sample the second last comment here:
    http://knownturf.blogspot.com/2005/07/mind-your-millets.html

    ReplyDelete
  13. I thought you'd asked the Hawk to piss off? Or was it somebody else??

    ReplyDelete
  14. Strange, of all the places I’d have guessed you’d work for, I’d never have thought it would be the place where the godawfully moronic Oriya engineer who just tells you, “reboot kar le na,” every time the systems hang or crashes, belongs. Have some three years worth of both pleasant and unpleasant memories from that alma mater of sorts. Should have actually figured things out from the TC connection. Anyway!

    ReplyDelete
  15. annie: Okay yours was waaaaaaay more random than mine could be! :) But still, this is getting annoying. Anyone know how to block specific users from commenting?

    sunshine woman: Noooo, I just very politely delete the comments. I did TRY to ask him to piss off, but he doesn't seem to know how to read.

    codey: Ummm.. I don't work for NDTV if that's what you mean, wa sonly interviewed by them and if you mean my REAL job HOW did you guess?? :)

    grunt: Wow! Good on you. Now if you'll only discover who the other loser is :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. ah, many a phone conversation have happened at that little space outside the loss in tc...
    like jay says- this is probablya good one, but who is one to give gyaan.
    interviewed by ndt....missed it, what was the peg of the story, then, someone pray tell?

    ReplyDelete
  17. em: aii.. I am daft, but not daft enough to not notice that you don't work for a telly outfit. Yes, I am talking about the REAL job. Acutally, had accidentally found out about it while having some yum chicken wings and deliciously chilled beer at the Diner at IHC with a friend when a good friend from TOI popped by out of the blue for a quick bite during an assignment and we got talking.

    During the course of the routine shop bitching, I was telling her how someone from times telly called me up to check if there are any video bloggers in del and of course, then the story turned to how media has 'discovered' blogging now and how every tom+dick+harry and their collective moms are doing stories on it.

    And from there on to the ND piece and I mentioned your blog and she was like "oh, she is my junior from college and works at so and so place" and I was like dayum.. how could I have not thought about that place?

    And the bloke I mentioned in the earlier comment is sanjeev, have had numerous run ins with him during the very delicate time period after pg1 is released and the people in the cabs are grumbling, waiting for the others who have not finished off yet.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Is this a good idea? To do a story on random harrassment. Will it not encourage weirdos to go online now. I guess I feel that the blog world is my space with like minded people where I can switch off from the real world and be free... weirdos not welcome! Look what happened to Buchu!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your feedback! It'll be published once I approve it. Inflammatory/abusive comments will not be posted. Please play nice.