Sunday, April 18, 2010

Chew some gums... Have some candies...

Preeti Shenoy is an all rounder, a very humble human, an avid blogger, a poet, a great painter and a writer from Pune, who is currently living in UK. She is the mastermind behind the very popular blog ‘Just a mother of two‘.
She has also written a book which was launched on October 4, 2008,  entitled “34 Bubblegums and Candies“. Read on to know more about her blog and her mamma/wife-y moments.


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1. To start with, Mrs. Shenoy (Sounds so weird. :|) - Your profilesays - "Author, Artist, Poet, Mom!" - while the title of your blog says "Just a mother of two!", er, what do we conclude?


A: You could either conclude that I am very humble or you could conclude that I am Multi talented, depending on whether you view that glass of___________ (insert age appropriate beverage) as half full or half empty :-)
 You can call me Preeti. I usually use Mrs.Shenoy only when I call up my husband's office and I want them to transfer the call to him real quick. It always works :-)


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2. You have a Wiki page on yourself, too - How does that feel? Proud to show your children, (who will some day complete their homework by Wiki!) a page on their mother?


A:  Oh—ahh--.. Er...It's no big deal. (Mad or what?! Feels super!) Yes, I do feel proud but then I also scroll down to the end of that same wiki page and see the tag 'Living people' :P It is enough to bring me back to Earth :-)  (and to remind me how fragile and fleeting  life truly is)

  
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3. So much love you get from your blog readers, does your husband ever feel jealous with your name and fame? :P


A:  He wears brass knuckles with spikes. He did bash up one guy once who wrote me a 24 page love letter. Just kidding. :-)
 No—he has been remarkably supportive and understanding. If he had been jealous I don’t think my first book would have seen light of the day. He does feel very proud of my achievements.


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4. Er, okay, I myself am nervous drafting the first interview of my blogging career - what do you have to say about it? 

A: Very different from the usual set of questions I am asked. I am enjoying this :-) So relax and you enjoy  too  :-)


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5. Did the book help your blog? Or, your blog helped the book? Or, something of this sort? :|

A:  A bit of both actually. The blog resulted in the book but after the book came out, it has also helped the blog since a lot of readers who read the book now read the blog. This is also propelling the second and the third and the fourth too. (yes, not kidding. Already planned and in the pipeline)

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 6. Wait, how the hell on Earth did your blog actually get so popular? What questions did you have in your mind while starting a blog? How did it? 

A: It did not happen overnight. It grew and grew and grew and  just wouldn’t stop growing.(Maybe someone fed it extra growth hormones)  To be honest my only question when I first started it was how to hide my identity! I wasn’t sure what I was getting into.


7. How do you manage to be so optimistic, and cheerful? It's embarrassing for young bloggers (You look younger than me, though!) like me to believe that optimistic view of yours for life?


A:  When I was a baby I fell into the happy potion. My folks  didn’t want to get me out but the Druid said I was talking too much and was distracting him. So they  had to reluctantly  take me away. :-)
Seriously, I  guess it seems like that because I focus only on the positive. Plus, I am truly lucky to have a great set of friends who are  a lot of fun. We laugh so much when we talk. Many a time it is silliness. Helps to balance the ‘seriousness’ of life. It is too short to NOT have fun.


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8.  You write articles, you paint, you write poems, you're a mother - OMG, and so much optimism around - How do you manage so much? It's just too much, trust me! :o You could have been the Management head of
something!


A:  Had I been management head I’d have been cribbing about bonuses and cubicles and who did not deserve that promotion and how bad the coffee is and how twitter and FB are blocked in office  :P  :-) Now since I am a mom, I get to boss everyone around  :-) I cannot complain about the coffee too as I have to make it myself :-) (Okay--husband wakes me up with coffee each morning. Now, I really cannot complain :-) )
 How I manage so much—I work late  into nights after kids sleep and I work long hours. I snatch time whenever I can. I organise things so I make time for stuff that truly matters to me.

 


10. Heard that your next book is a love story based on the eighties? Mind sharing some "breaking information" with your readers about it?
 
A: Very soon I will be writing the synopsis and what it is all about. It is a full length fiction. Cannot reveal more at this point. Please join http://www.facebook.com/pages/Preeti-Shenoy/118505108161802  if you really really want a sneak peek. I will be sending mailers about it to everyone who is enrolled there.

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11. Do you think will you change something in your life if given a chance?


A: Of course. I’d give myself powers to teleport :-) Then I can come to India in a jiffy and come back here just as quickly. What fun!


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12. What do you think you would have been in your previous life, if you were a participant of "Raaz Pichle Janam Kaa?" :P

A: I had to google that and read up about the show.( I don’t watch TV at all). I might have been Jhansi ki rani or Chandrashekar Azad! (That explains the strong patriotic zeal I have)  Then again maybe I was Van Gogh or Rene Magritte. (which explains the artistic streak) Then again maybe I was just an unknown, obscure librarian, living happily in her world of books.

  
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13. Don't you feel insecure by the blog of your kids? Man, they too are popular, now! :|


A: Shhhh..don’t tell them! They have no clue  :-)


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14. Don't you think, taking my first interview, I was lame... frustrated, boring, and sounded stupid? No, wait, seriously.

 A: Not lame—quite tame. Not Frustrated—Neither R rated :-) Not boring—maybe exploring

Not stupid—and I did not blow a lid :P


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15. Okay. Let us end this on a scary note. I was lame, I accept.. you are better, I accept that too! Thank you so much for wasting your precious time answering these silly questions of no use, Preeti. One
last question, answer whatever you felt I could have asked more! :|


A: :-) I enjoyed it as much as  you. Thank you  :-)

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PS: The best part was that you guys didn't even notice that the 9th question was missing - this is what she does to you with her writings. Make you feel lost, and ignore the negative things. :-)

22 comments:

Sucheta Tiwari said...

nice blog.
awesome interview :)

Pavi said...

Loved it. Enjoyed reading.

Sundari said...

Exactly..preeti makes us feel lost in her writings..never noticed Qn 9 was missing :)

Nice interview

Mohan said...

Good one! Nice to know so many things about Preeti apart from her wiki page and blog. Nice work there dude. All the best with rest of the series :)

Saimah Raza said...

It was fun reading it. :)
Great work!

Swaram said...

A very diff. interview Arjit and PS ..luved reading it :)

Asha said...

Arjit, at times even i wonder how Preeti gets so much time. Glad you asked her this question(no 8). Your words will ring true someday, she will become a management guru, Thanks to the halo of positivity around her.

Very good set of questions, Arjit. Congrats, do i see an intelligent interviewee in the making.

Meira said...

Aren't we glad we know her :)

Reflections said...

Arjit, Asha even I wondered how she makes the time for everything;-o.
Jokes apart I admire her, Period!!!!

:-)

Er. said...

@Sucheta
Thank you so much. I am glad that you liked it.


@Pavi
Thank you, ma'am.


@Sundari
Certainly shows that I was right. You also missed the 9th question. Thank you for dropping in here.


@Saimah
Thank you so much for following my stupid posts everywhere. :)


@Mohan
Thank you so much, sir. This was just the starting. I hope I can carry off the the rest of the series too in the same manner. Thank you for coming in.


@Swaram
Thank you so much for appreciating the work. Glad you liked it.'

@Meria
Yes, we are. :-)

Er. said...

@Reflections
Tell you what? I admire her readings, too. She was the first author my little sister tried out. And I may give her the credit for inspiring my sister to read more books!


@Asha
See how smartly she dodged her management fundas. :P I guess, the positivity around her makes her grow as a person and makes people inspire!

I think you're seeing a very stupid interviewee in the making! :p

magiceye said...

well done! short,informative and crisp

Preeti Shenoy said...

Hi all,
Thank you for all the wonderful things everyone has said :)

@Virgin author: I have NOT dodged the question :) I did say I work late hours..also i dont watch TV at all--thats how I 'make time'

Cheers
Preeti

eN said...

One good interview...nicely asked and cheekily answered.
@Arjit : I loved Question 8 the most :)
@Preeti : Admire you a gr8 deal. Wishing you grand success for ur next book too :)

Garima said...

I loved it Arjit...is this an intentional initiative of interviewing 'second to none' celebrities-bloggers? I would suggest you to make it a career rather..what say?

Er. said...

@Magiceye
Thank you for your kind words! :)


@Preeti
Okay - Mrs. Management! :P


@Nandana
Thank you. Didn't you like the rest of the questions? :P


@Garima
Yes, Garima. This IS an intentional initiative of interviewing 'second to none' celebrity bloggers, or people who make an impact by their words - the celebrity tag is not required.

A career? Ouch. Can be possible! Only if I am paid off well. :P

aish_nini said...

was extremely lost while reading the interview giggling within :)..
and ofcourse arjit MUST make a career with this..lol

Preeti Shenoy said...

@Virgin author: Ms. please :)Miss and Mrs are antiquated :P :)

Anonymous said...

An Interview! So unexpected! And a very nice read at that! Makes me curious about Q 9):)

My fav was Ans 7).

Pesto Sauce said...

Hey I used to read this bog often sometime in the past, did not read the book though. Must say she writes well

Vintage Obsession said...

very true about the P.S part :) she comes across as somebody very talented i must say :)

Anonymous said...

really awesome.......

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