Work hard – Play harder: Ananda Gupta

About:

I am Ananda Gupta (a.k.a. – AG by most of my colleagues). I am a Bengali who was born(15/04/1974) in Madras and lives in New Delhi. I wanted to be a chef, but then life had other plans for me, so somehow I found myself learning how to program – after 4 years of learning I realized that a (;) semi-colon could screw my entire day’s work :P, so I moved to design. Learnt the whereabouts on the job, worked for some of the best names – employers and clients to pixel perfection – ROFL :)) I like macro close-up photography. I like food, I like to drive (sans the traffic), I collected – matchboxes, chocolate wrappers, first day covers. I like to learn – these days I am learning how to swim. I blog at aanondo.wordpress.com.

Ananda Gupta

Interview

Q1: Welcome to Speakbindas. Tell us since when blogging has been a part of your life? Was there any motive or inspiration as a backbone of it?

• I have been blogging since mid 2006 I guess. No particular reason, I was in the habit of writing a diary of sortsduring school, but then that was it. I used to write or say ghost write for a lot of my connections, so thought, why not do it for real 🙂

Q2: What is your blog all about? Which topics you cover there? Is that you alone running/maintaining the blog, or have a team?

• My blog is ‘all’ over the place, because that is how I want it and that is how I am. I have multifarious interests – Music, Photography, Design, Food, Clothes, Travel, Life, Gadgets & Devices.. , so my blog had to reflect that. I do not write a topicalized blog – because I know I will never be able to restrain myself to keep to just one topic 🙂
• I would say, I just maintain a blog – aanondo.wordpress.com, can’t call this running a blog 🙂 can you? I do it myself.

Q3: What are the present statistics for your blog, i.e. number of daily visitors, visitors geographical status etc.?

• Frankly, I have never cared about it. I rarely see the stats or even try to analyze the numbers. I found this on the blog -Total views: 10,803(on 19-09-09). The average per day seems to be about 8 visitors. geographical status I have no clue of 🙂

Q4: Is blogging for you just a passion or a medium for earning too? Does it help you to earn enough cash to quit a 9 to 5 day job?

• Just a passion. Would like to keep it that way.

Q5: Who are your favorite bloggers, whom you read frequently?

• No one in particular. Content is like music -It depends on my mood, what I like.

Q6: From the secret bucket of your blogging experiences, what tips you would like to share with the fellow bloggers?

• Be yourself, just because people can meet you, doesn’t mean that they can’t meet you, if you get what I mean. Use the same language that you would use to interact if you were meeting people 1-on-1. Have a conversation rather than a monologue.

Q7: Do you believe that blogging completes you? If yes, tell us how?

• I live in the moment and for the moment, so it complete. At best, the blog is one of the modes of expression, nothing more.

Q8: What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

• Happiest – Every time I consciously realize that I can walk again.
• Gloomiest – Whenever I realize that will never be able to run and jump again.

Q9: Say, you are sponsored to travel to 3 world destinations, where you need not to worry about costs for food, hotel or anything. Which destinations would you pick up, and why? Would you like to take someone along with you? If yes, whom?

They will have to be –

1) The backwaters of Kerala – because I love the pictures from my sister’s visit.

2) Leh and ladakh – because I love the pictures from a lot of friends who have been there.

3) KL – because my wife wants to see that place.

People with me would have to be my wife and kid for sure!

Q10: Are you into watching movies? If yes, which fills your list of favorite ones?

• I am and I am not – means, I am too lazy to keep a track, I watch movies that I taken to 😛
• List – Good bad and Ugly, SpaceJam, Munich, Hirak Rajar Deshe (bangla), Escape to Victory, Ben Hur, Singing in the Rain, An American In paris, casablanca, The man who knew too much, Birds…..

Q11: How has blogging helped you other than money?

• It has only helped in the other aspect 😀 – to connect to people, like you.

Q12: What would be the one thing you’d change about yourself?

• hmnnn … nothing! but if you force me then, I would like to look like Gregory Peck … Hahahaha!!

Q13: What is your deepest fear?

• That one day I will get up and will not be able to walk again.

Q14: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

• My dad, could not say bye to him, the day that he passed away 🙂

Q15: Which is your favorite television show? Favorite songs?

• Sa-Re-Ga-Ma sans the kid compare (dunno if that is the correct spelling). Songs?…Loads, check my blog, I have posted quite a few of them there.

Q16: How much money do you have in your purse/wallet right now (including change)?

• Rs. 200 or so.

Q17: What is your favorite food? Any particular dislikes?

• Pasta, south Indian, Cheese and bacon, et. all. Ya – I hate the ‘tinda’ family and ‘fish, crabs, prawns’ in curry form.

Q18: What’s your take on the technological advancement these days? Does it make people’s life simple or complicated?

• Mechanical is the word – not complicated. You get up, check mail. Set an alarm for a meeting. If the bloody alarm doesn’t ring – you are fucked, ‘cos you will miss that important call 😀 We have stopped relying on our senses.
• Plus, you are never alone, if you are getting late (even on schedule)… your phone will ring like an alarm clock with people checking where you are, as they are updating your path manually for Google Maps 😛
• We have lost our lives to these bloody machines [and I am one of them]. Currently trying to ‘reclaim my life’.

Q19: List out the 10 bloggers you believe should be interviewed by Speakbindas.com.

• themarketingblog.wordpress.com for sure. He (Daksh) got me from Yahoo 360 to WordPress.

Q20: Any special message you would like to share with your blog readers as well with everyone else?

• Work hard – Play harder!