15 April 2009

One Last Story...

They say it's better to get out when you're at the top, then let yourself slide down. Well, if that was the case, I should have quit just after writing "Just A Bat And A Ball". But it's not too late. Officially, let me say. Laptop Diary is going to close down.

A few months ago, I would have picturised readers all over the world gasping at their computer screens, and feeling a sense of despair. That's the good thing about dreams. They never have to work out, do they? Most of you'll be glad. So am I.


So excatly do I mean by shutting down? Well, for starters, I dont think I'll be writing any more posts. I'm not sure about that. I may start again. That's why I've decided to keep the blog alive. You can always read my previous posts. But before I finally close everything, here's one last post. One last story...


"A Mark Sheet, A Cheque Book...and A Friend"
This is a story I heard from a cousin brother studiying in Bangalore. As a 12th grader, several years ago, my cousin, whose name for the time being will be Ahmed, got a new Physics teacher. Actually, Mr. Joseph was a temporary teacher, who was supposed to fill in for the first month of their 12th grade.

Joseph Sir was a peculiar man. For one thing, he never laid any emphasis on studies. Sure, he did appreciate the toppers, and urged the weaker students to perform well. But beyond that, he seemed to be aloof from studies.

One day, when there was just about 5 minutes left for the bell to ring, Joseph Sir stopped teaching. He looked at Ahmed, and asked abruptly. "What's the matter?"

"Huh? Nothing sir." Ahmed said.

Joseph Sir closed the cap of his marker pen, and threw it onto the table. He looked across the room, at where Santosh was sitting. "Santosh, werent you sitting next to Ahmed till yesterday?"

"Yes sir," a low voice replied.

"So why have you changed your place?"

There was silence for a minute. It was interrupted by the ringing of the bell. Without saying a word, Joseph Sir walked out of class...

Next day, he walked in, and without opening his textbook like he always did, asked everyone to keep away
their study material.

"What's the best thing you could do?" He asked. "Tell me, what, as a student, is the best thing you could do?"

"Get good marks?" someone murmurmed.

"Excellent. Good marks in what?"

"Our 12th Boards?"

"Yes, go on. In what way?"

"By topping the school..?"

"More, think more..."

"By topping every subject. But setting new records. By getting full in as many subjects as possible?"

"Yes!" Joseph Sir cried, raising his hands with pride. He suddenly fell quiet again. "And what do you need for that?"

"Study hard?"

"Yes, study hard. Study day and night. Study so much, that you finally cram everything you'll ever need to reproduce onto 12 pages within 3 hours. That, will mark the greatest acheivement of your student life. Or will it?"

No one replied. They knew Joseph Sir had a point to make. "Guys," he said, "you should all know one thing. It's tough to excel in your exams. But with the right amount of tutions, studiying hours, lack of sleep and a bit of luck, you can crack even the toughest of exams. Atleast in the Indian system of education."

"If you wanted to be a rich guy, all you'd have to do, is get a great job, invest cautiously, and soon, you'll have the bank balance you always wanted."

"But here's the question: What will make you truly happy?"

"Is it a mark sheet, a cheque book...or a friend?"

"If I had money, I'd be in a Ferrari...." someone said. Everyone laughed a little. Joseph Sir smiled. "That's right. You'd be cruising in a Ferrari. Until you run out of money. What then? Isnt money momentary?"

"What about a mark sheet. What if you were the topper from IIT?"

"Brilliant. Then you'd get the best job possible. You'd be the rising star. Until someone else comes along, with better qualifications. Better brains, faster hands, smarter tongue. What then? You're no longer the topper from IIT. You're the second best guy at your job."

"What's your point, sir?" Ahmed asked.

"My point is this. We spend all our energies, trying to get as much money and fame and social status as we can. But what about real friendship? Do we really give it much importance?"

"There's nothing such as real friendship!" Santosh said spitefully.

"My dear child, just because you havent found it yet, doesnt mean it doesnt exist. You all know the saying, "Man is a social being". What does that mean? It means we're beings who have feelings, and emotions. We love and want to be loved. Our sense of belongingness is strong."

"What it means, is that at the end of the day, after you've driven your Ferrari, and worked in IBM, you - all of you - want to come back home, and talk to a friend. Sounds absurd doesnt it? But is it?"

"I'll be leaving within the next two weeks.You'll have a new, and better Physics teacher. But before I go, let me tell you this. It's easy to top an exam. It's even easier to earn money. The toughest thing to do, is to build strong friendships. Not friendships where you discuss about movies and girls. Not friendships that stop the moment your friend cant help you out in Maths. I'm talking about the real friendships. Where you'll always have someone to help you. Someone to talk to. Someone to help you when you're down."

"If you get such friends, if you can build such bonds, you've done what most people in the world have failed to do. That, my dear students, is the true success in life. Thank you, class is dismissed early today. And Ahmed, I hope you've understood what I said..."

Ahmed nodded his head, and looked at Santosh....

This is a semi - fictional story, and only the message remains true. It's purely my view of thinking. You are free to debate, criticise, support or even ridicule.

All of you've been wonderful readers of this blog. When I started out, I never thought Laptop Diary would become a regular, comment filled blog. I dont say its an amazingly popular blog. But it's exceeded my expectations. 

For those of you, who havent commented on any post yet, there's a way : Just give a one word comment, as in 'Good', 'Bad', 'Horrible', 'Awesome' and so on. And then, rate the post out of 5. 1 for bad. 2 for average. 3 for good. 4 for excellent. 5 for outstanding. You can even give 1.5 or 2.5 and so on. But please do evalute and comment. 

Also, for my loyal readers, who've regularly commented, I would like it if you could give a review/testimonial for Laptop Diary. Maybe it's too much to ask for. Still, I hope you can...

Those who've subscribed, you'll know if I ever restart this blog. For the rest of you guys, as I said, please subscribe.

Until the time comes......Goodbye!

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22 comments:

  1. dis aint fair..just to keep that new blog alive,u cant close this down!!!
    this is our last year n we wanted to read good work done by u..coz hu knos if we have time later on in life....

    abt the story
    its gud n today me n my frnd were dicussing abt the same topoc...n i seemed to be on agsnt ur view...dunno y....but yea i do feel that real frndship is the most imp..!

    n plz dnt stp this blog!!!

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  2. oh, but why??? Laptop diary is going so strong. u have so many followers...your blog so popular. ur writings, simply amazing!! I've been a silent follower of this blog ever since u left a comment in mine...although i comment rarely here, I really love the laptop dairy...i would really be unhappy if it closed down! Hope you reconsider...seriously!:-) I've loved the laptop dairy: its thought me lessons, remindined me of certain good things, amused and entertained me. It has morals, it has everyday instances which have gone a long way in telling me so many stories...i've even gone back to read the older posts. The great thing about the laptop dairy is that its not just another teenage blog which simply records stuff like "oh, today was crap. i hate myself." but goes beyond it to analyse situations...its about the soul understanding itself, its about someone growing up, morally, ethically..its devolopment in every sense of the word! That's why I enjoy reading the laptop dairy: its honest, its from the heart, and its beautifully expressed. Ur on my "talented teenage bloggers" lists, mohammad, and I think I wouldnt want to remove the laptop dairy from that list. Anyway, about this article, very good philosophy being emphasized-that physics teacher, whoever he is, is one very clever man! Wishing you all the very best in life, and hope the dairy always remains alive...i shall miss it otherwise! have fun! :-)

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  3. PS: Would like to write a testimonial abt the laptop dairy on my blog sometime soon, in a post analysing some of the reasons why teenagers may find it hard to blog regualarly, or tend to give up blogging temporarily...i was thinking ill include and/or refer to other teenage bloggers as well. seek ur permission to refer to your post. If u don't desire me to do it, pl do inform me.
    thanks and regards,
    lakshmi

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  4. My rating: 4

    Hey Mustafa, I really enjoyed reading your blog. Most of your topics are thought provoking and all of them are quite interesting. I don't know what you believe, but I believe that Laptop Diary will soon be back again. Soon. And I hope you'll understand that we WILL miss reading your blog until then.

    @Rocky, I don't believe "Rhymes of the Soul" is the reason for this shut down. I believe that if Mustafa wants to take a long break, he has the choice.

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  5. hey musthafa.....i have no idea y u r closin down dis blog but one thing i noe is dat ppl r gonna really miss dis blog.....i really loved ya blog but neva used to comment cos i dint noe wat to write....but now i guess de situtaion is diff.....hope u'll restart dis soon...im really gonna miss readin dis....n i luved ya last stury....we were talkin bout dis in de bus actually...nywys i really hope everythin will b fine n dat u'll start dis agian...

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  6. damn...pity u have to shut down now..but u have ur reasons...hope to see ur blog again sometime soon..

    n nice story...true stuff..

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  7. All i want to say is DONT stop blogging! U have reasons and its ur wish wheter u want to listen to me or no...but just as far as blogging is concerned dnt stop....if it may please u i request!

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  8. listen you buffoon sittin on he other end of this LG.... YOU JUST CANNOT STOP WRITING...get that???? YOU ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE... If you shut this stuff, m gonna find you and force you to get back to writing... and i mean it!!!

    How can you do this man?

    you dont even think of your writters???
    thats so selfish of you! I want you to be back quick... take a break if you want but then you will be back... you have to be back... this blog is a world of its own and you cant put an end to this.

    Laptop diary was the one thing that drew me into this world of blogging. every evening i wud open my blogger dashboard expecting a new post. Ofcourse, i didn find new upadates saily, but it was always fun to read the old posts again and again... especially "Julius ceaser 1.5" - my fav. your works were all such excellent pieces... each one of them... and i wud never be able to write as good as you do. you cant quit dude... you just cant

    In this life there are no such thing as your best work or your worst... its all just "your works". We never give up and if i know you well enuf - you won't give up either.

    as for this post, this was a LEGEND
    i give you 5

    will miss you mate

    please don't go

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  9. I think your loyal readers have the right to know the reason for this closing down of Laptop Diary.

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  10. Whatever your reasons for closing this blog are I think you should reconsider. You've got quite the fan following boyo. And you have that one in a million talent at story writing. Keep at it. That's all i have to say.

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  11. ASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    U dare close this thing down I swear I'll stop reading whatever you write for eternity... And honestly I dont wanna do that...
    honestly dude, When I started a blog I just wanted to write up some 100 posts, when that ended, I decided to stop it.. But soon I realized it became a part of me.
    I hope you share the same bond with your blog as well buddy. You know you don't want to. Just continue it, just because u threw out a junk among many jewels, doesnt mean that the entire sweat you spent for this need be worthless...
    If you do listen to your "Editor-In-Chief"... Then do continue writing in this blog.
    Your Friend Forever,
    Shahabaz

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  12. jus got 1 thing 2 say...
    PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH

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  13. musthafa...
    i dont know really wht ur going through one thing i know is....wot ur doin isnt right....remember tat day.....wen i decided to stop writing poems...u told me sumthing....jus think bout it...

    uve got it in u....u shared it with us till now...nd all i request is dnt stop...
    maybe u hav better reasons but just think bout it..
    well i should give u a 5 nd ya....so far its been fantatsic....well i concluding hoping...u'll be bak soon

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  14. da listen ....dun hv 2 do it 4 me or ur friends or ne1....jus do it 4 de readers....jus do it 2 keep urself pre-occupied....write wat u feel....isnt dat wat u always did?.....dun evn know....if u'll eva read this...but neway....till u get bac 2 what u wer....i dun really mind 4gettin wat u did.....its dusn really matter....every1 makes mistakes.....the imp thing is 2 cum bac....as stroing as ever....tc.....941641...rem?

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  15. r u serious???wat's rong dude...only thing i m tellin u is not to is to close down de blog...plzzzzzzzz

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  16. da.......2 make the blog the most successful was ur dream.......in fact was included in ur bucket list!....wht made u think of closin it?.......nothin doin bro!.....
    v dont mind, if u dont post 4 long......bt these posts wich r already der, r worth...... at any cost u aint shuttin down the blog!....plzz dont bro!.....its a humble request!.......

    can u ignore all these ppl's request n take ur own decision of closin down the blog?....v read ur blog, commented on each as u wishd......n nw in return, v juz ask 4 this......DONT SHUT IT DOWN!......plzzz bro....

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  17. bro, btw the latest post or story juz rox man!.........this is xactly y v're all pleading 2 u not 2 stop bloggin!.....plzz!.....4 god sake!.....

    n i rate the entire blog - 4

    n this 1 post as 5

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  18. Firstly, the problem what you're going through, I know its hard for you, but not worth shutting down a part of something that you hold dearest to your heart. Your talent as a writer are with no doubt very good. God has given you something many others crave deep within themselves for. The ability to capture a person with your speech and with what you write.

    I know I'm in no place to say this but you should not shut this blog down. These people who comment on your blog, all those who have subscribed to it are not doing it just because they think you're a great guy but because they find something that they can relate to in your blogs. Don't shut it down.

    PS : I might be rough on many things. I may disagree on many grounds. And we do see things on a different level wherever we are. Just remember I'm here. You feel like you need to smile and forget whats going on even for a minute, JUST LET ME KNOW.

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  19. it's really not gud on ur part 2 close dis blog!!!! it may be dat u have ur own reasons dat doesn't mean dat u stop dis blog.........aleast 4 allde reader's sake u must not close dis blog.....plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
    its a request 4m dis daily reader of urs.....im sory dat m not mentioning my name coz i'm quite shy..........
    but plz don't stop dis blog.....
    i may not comment on ur blog but i do defenetly read it daily.....
    i open ur blog everyday hopin 2 read a new post after skool!!!!
    i hope u understand dis n don't stop dis blog

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  20. is this some trick for cheap popularity? you think you can just write a post like this to see how people value your blog and then say that you changed your decision and come back?

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  21. To anonymous - april 17,6:53 pm

    if u have something to say to mustaffa, tell it to him face to face. Don go around typin shit on his blog jus so u feel better about yo sickass self.

    this aint yo momma's playhouse kidd to come n type wateva comes into yo head.

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  22. well i guess all those comments are equivalent to the standing ovation and shouts of "encore" that follows a superb perfomance.dont know y u'r shutting down now,u could hv just "suspended ur transmissions" until further notice....
    ignore anonymous,there'll always b sceptics...
    @the other anonymous,glad to c ur loyalty and support to musthafa,but u could have refined ur language a bit...after u'r defending the author of "dont swear it aint cool",remember?..

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