The Mystery Reader in Portugal


                                      

I send my blog only to readers handpicked by me. It’s a very private list comprising my immediate and extended family, close friends, former and current colleagues (both seniors and juniors), and some acquaintances with whom my mental wavelength matches. The one thing unique in this list of readers is that all think differently. Most of them are based in India and the UAE and few in Kuwait, Qatar, Canada, the United States and Netherlands. 

Readers who have travelled or are travelling have accessed / or access my blogs in Australia, UK, Slovakia, France and Indonesia. I know who they are because I know they have travelled or are on a holiday. There have been readings in Italy, Singapore, Ireland, Switzerland too but only once or twice and I am guessing they’ve been done by my readers (in transit) though I am not aware who they are – because I know the travel plans of only some, not all. Since it is only one- or two-page views, it doesn’t arouse my curiosity.   

But this blog is not about the readers I know (I will write a separate blog for them) but for a reader completely unknown to me. Someone who is reading my blogs regularly – 61-page views till last count – in Portugal. I know no one there – no one from my family resides there, none of my friends, acquaintances, school mates and colleagues are there. And I am sure none of my readers have forwarded the link to anyone in Portugal because I have already enquired with the ones I thought could have done this and they said no.

Is the reader male or female, married or unmarried, student or employed, Asian or European? I have no clue. I wish I was Hercule Poirot so I could crack the mystery. But it feels good to be read by someone completely unknown to me. With readers known to me, there is already a bond due to blood, friendship, work, or vibes. But with the Portugal reader the connection is only because of my blog.

The pen can be an instrument of love or hate, that’s why it is mightier than the sword. The pen can make a friend your enemy or an enemy your friend. It can also bring a stranger from a distant land close to you. Writing can establish a lifetime bond.

-          NZ

7.7.2019

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