Three months back I had decided to go to Madurai for a wedding on September 9 and 10. But on the 6th, I decided to drop that trip and attend the BlogCamp instead. After spending two days at there, I realized that very little differentiates a BlogCamp from a wedding.
Goodies for visitors: Had I gone to the marriage in Madurai, I would have got a coconut, a betel leaf, a lemon, some areca nut in a polyethylene bag. At the BlogCamp I got a black bag (with Yahoo written all over it), a Zoho writing pad, a Sulekha India Smiles book, a blue Fuente Systems mug, and a black Fashion IQ T-shirt. Had I known, I would have not booked my tickets at all.
Free Food: The single biggest reason why all marriage halls are crowded is because that’s when everybody takes revenge. “Wasn’t he the guy who ate all the rice at my wedding? Let me do the same now, at his son’s wedding!” Same happened with me at the BlogCamp. I hogged well on both days…which was one of the reasons why I didn’t participate much.
The old and the young: At the conference the seniors had congregated in the auditorium discussing strategies, vision and concepts while the young ones were closeted in the conference hall upstairs engaging in hands-on experiences. Don’t the marriages also have a set of old relatives who try to match pairs and a set of young cousins who have all the fun?
Gifts: While a few like me walk into a marriage without gifts, most walk into marriages with a gift wrapped in shiny paper. If I were to make a comparison…almost everybody who walked into the conference had something or the other on hand which they thought was their gift to the blogging community – a brand to promote, a url to popularize or a presentation to deliver.
Relief: After most marriages the daughter’s father and mother are a relieved couple. No issues. Everything went on smoothly…and I am sure Kiruba and his team of volunteers would have felt the same at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
By day, Jamshed V Rajan (also known as Jammy), is Director - Products, India, at Nimbuzz and by night he is a wannabe stand-up comedian. He blogs about his wife and life (and in recent times, his 3-year-old daughter too!) at www.ouchmytoe.com.