Inked Toast, Toasted Ink and Namelessness

WELCOME TO MY blog Inktoast!

"Ink... what? Come again!"

"Inktoast! What sort of a name is that?"

"Hey that's quite a weird name! Why did you select it?"

"Inktoast... hmmm... are you trying to be a pseudo-intellectual?"

"What's the meaning of ink toast? Does it mean toasted ink?"

"Why 'toast'? Are you writing a blog on food and dining?"

And Shakespeare said what's in a name! Phew!

For the past few days this has become a part and parcel of my life. Whenever I tell people the name of my new blog, I invariably get the same reaction from them — raised eyebrows, sarcastic smirk and a sneering 'what-the-hell-does-that-mean' expression on their faces. So far the ratio has been pretty consistent — 8 out of 10 people have given me that utterly confused look, as if I have proposed Newton's fourth law of motion! Before I can describe the content of the blog, all their inquisitiveness (and comments) get stuck to its name — inktoast. And that kicks off the volley of probing questions!

But now it's getting on my nerves. Pissed off with the countless interpretations and paraphrases of 'inktoast', I have finally decided to give a written clarification of the name (does that make any sense? Anyway, who cares!).

Warning: the remaining part of the post might appear to be inane and pointless to you, so read on at your own risk.

When Aniruddha, a friend of mine (he insists that I mention his name as a gesture of recognizing his contribution towards the blog) suggested the name, I initially found it rather incomprehensible. However, on second thoughts, I felt 'inktoast' has a certain kind of funkiness to it, and that's resonating at the same time. In fact, my idea was to create a blog for leisure-reading and not to burden it with serious stuff. So while 'ink' stands for the power of expression (quite a weighty phrase, isn't it?), the word 'toast' adds to the zaniness of the blog (it's more on the lines of 'raising a toast', not 'eating it'!). I hope now you realize that the blog is more of a coffee-table book than a research paper!

Contrary to the popular notion, my blog isn't about grave socio-political issues or profound philosophical concepts. Nor has it got to do anything with food and dining. Instead, it's all about memories frozen in time — some recent, some not so recent and some embedded in the past. There have been so many events, experiences, ideas, images, sounds and occurrences that have moved me, amused me, disturbed me, enraged me or left me speechless — all clustered together during the wonderful journey called life. Finally, here they are, framed into words and visuals. Graffiti on walls might appear to be ramblings for many, but they too have a story to tell.

So guys, let's raise a toast to the power of ink! Happy Blogging!

Image courtesy: Sourish Mitra