What it is

I first participated in International Blog De-Lurking Week in 2016. I also participated in 2017 and 2018. At that time I had little idea of what it meant. I mean I knew what lurking was but what exactly was blog de-lurking week?

Well, for those of you who are planning to run away,  it is ONE  week in January where unknown visitors to one’s blog are asked to make themselves known. This year it is from 7-13 January

International Blog De-Lurking Week was started by Mel of Stirrup Queens.  It has since been taken over by Parul of Happiness and Food.

I suppose we all are curious as to who really visits our blog. Most times visitors just come by accident and quickly bounce off. ( So the stats tell me). Other times they stay for a minute or two but leave without a trace. No Likes. No comments. No links. No sign that the visitor was there.

Now isn’t this disconcerting? It is almost like getting a message from my maid

“Madam, pata nahi, kissi ka phone kiske liye kab aya.”

For those of you who think this is Greek, it is Hindi for “Madam, I don’t know who rang up for whom while you were out.”

This was a common enough occurrence in my home in the days when landlines existed and there was no caller ID.

It would drive me insane! Who was it who called up? And for whom?

Similarly, I get curious to know who are those random visitors who visit my blog page and leave without a trace.

While I am in grumble mode, I must confess that I too am occasionally guilty of lurking – particularly on sites that I don’t regularly visit and land up purely by chance. My excuse is that often I find that the comment list is too long. Or the blog post is so old, that the blogger is hardly likely to acknowledge my comment or visit.

And more often than not, I am right. I have left so many comments on blogs which remain unnoticed.

Why, just last night when I was surfing the net for a recipe for an Anglo Indian mutton curry that I remembered from my school days, I saw a comment of mine on a blog post by Bridget White-Kumar that till today remains unacknowledged. You can imagine how disappointed I felt.

I have over the years realised what it means to be a blogger in the dark.

What does it entail?

It means that if, in,  this week  ( from 7-13 January ), you do visit my blog, please leave a comment telling me who you are.

• How did you stumble on my post?
• Did you like my blog?
• Will you come again?

Looking forward to seeing your face!

And for you my regular readers, thanks to your comments and feedback, I have managed to get to know the people behind the words. I appreciate your stopping by and more importantly, leaving behind a comment. THANK YOU!

Ciao and come again.

p.s. And if you have memories of Anglo-Indian food from school days or former British Clubs, do visit Bridget’s Blog . I assure you the recipes are mouthwatering.