He he ... I seem to be the one liking the stories that others don't seem to. Now, I am convinced I am weird ...LOL!!

But seriously, this reminds me of cinema. The best movies often times are not commercial blockbusters - some of them barely break even - but they make their marks on people in a way that many super hits don't. I find that to be the case with many stories on Sajha too. Some of the best stuff I've read here have been super-flops as measured by the view count and some of the reader comments. That compared to mediocre articles - both in style and substance - that have been super hits for one reason or another. Typically because the writer pandered to the audience instead of challenging them or really speaking his or her mind about something. I don't blame the writers of such stories and have nothing against them, after all who doesn't enjoy the recognition that comes with a high view count story. It's only human and tempting to be that way. It's just that I hope good writers who sometimes don't get too good a view count won't be too discouraged by it.

I am willing to bet anyone lunch at my local Chinese place that many of these stories, some of which challenge people's ideas of what a good story should be, are the ones that have left an imprint in people's minds as opposed to the more popular ones that might have tickled peoples pleasure senses momentarily but had no impact - lasting or momentary - on their thoughts.. Sometimes you need to shock people into thinking differently - just like you shock the heart into beating after a cardiac arrest I suppose. I occasionally feel there are too many "arrested" minds in Sajha and in the larger society that could do with a healthy jolt of provocative thought once in a while.


Also they say the cardinal rule in writing is to not question the intelligence or taste of your readers. I am not a writer so I am going to do precisely that (only because I can afford to do so in way of many these excellent writers cant.) I am not doing this on anyone's behest. I basically feel the audience here is very diverse - different ages, cultures, academic backgrounds etc - and unfortunately many people seem to approach fiction and story reading in a way that does not do justice to the writer's work. I've noticed people tend to critique someone's writing not so much on the merits of what was written or what the writer was trying to say but rather on what they wanted to hear or how they thought the story should have been written. I suppose that's just life and people will be people and do just that but I write to raise awareness that in order to truly appreciate literature and the arts, sometimes you've just got to put aside that innate desire to see the world the way you want it to be and accept that sometimes it is not. Or as I have come to say it's no use arguing with the plot. It won't change anything and will only spoil your chances of enjoying a story.

Sorry, I guess I went off a bit there. I hope this doesn't put off others from commenting on the story.