Over the last complete year, Ghumakkar.com celebrated more than 700 submissions of pure, honest and inspiring travel experiences. To be precise, 2012 gave us a total of ‘710’ travel stories, which translates to almost two stories every day. WOW! A lot of us have read have had our own moments of exhilaration, joy, pain, delight, warmth and inspiration. The process of growing and evolving from inside continued as we read these stories, read the comments, wrote our own comments and followed the oncoming views. As for me, I cannot forget the first post on Iceland by ‘Silent Soul‘, right in the early days of January 2012, when I came close to a reality that not only I never was aware of, but also could never imagine! Later in the month, I had the opportunity to talk to ‘Mukesh Bhalse‘ who was christened our first featured Author for that year. That set a great pace for the year that was to welcome many new authors joining us every month, taking us to new places and showing us new horizons.
As we look back, it is humbling to find that ‘Sandeep Jatdevta Panwar‘ has already written 100 stories during last 20 odd months. A century of posts which probably calls for celebration by itself. Good show Jatdevta!. Along with Sandeep, another name that comes naturally, almost as a partner-in-crime, to me is of Manu Tyagi. Manu has been a whiff of fresh air, a die-hard Ghumakkar, who is more on the road and has taught us the tact and the thought. I wish to see more of him in 2013. And Hindi being a strong common thread between the two, the story wont be complete without a strong mentio of Ritesh Gupta. Sandeep’s agility, Manu’s constant Ghumakkari and Ritesh’s control probably constitute the Hindi trinity of Ghumakkar. Amen.
I am not sure on how many of you are aware of the statistics but Vishal’s post on ‘Somanth and Dwarka’ has, and still is, helping a large number of devotees. Do not be surprised if you see this mini-celebrity going places in years to come. In its short stay of 9 months, this story has seen close to 20,000 views, 150 comments and most importantly 11000 shares! The trail of recent comments shows Vishal’s in-valuable contribution towards the larger cause of Ghumakkari and sharing information.
Much has been discussed over social media over why a change of year needs to be celebrated, and why not! For us, a change in the year lets us take a breather, look back, feel good about all the great stories, new friends we make and celebrate all of the above with applauding some of our friends who inspired the most. Vibha, our former Editor, has beautifully summarized this in her post on ‘Pat on the Back‘. So here comes the award for the ‘Ghumakkar of the Year’.
Continuing the traditions of 2009, 2010 and 2011 the Editorial team has lost many a sleep for all the reading and research. Our first job was to find an able panel of jury members and we are thankful to have Manish Kumar, Vibha Malhotra and D L agree to this.
Our association with Manish goes far back in the time. He is one of the much respected and widely admired Hindi Blogger in the blog-o-sphere. Manish wrote his first log in April 2009 at Ghumakkar and since then it has been a warm and pleasant journey with Manish. Manish currently lives in Ranchi and works for a large public sector unit. To know more about Manish, please read this conversation that I had with him a while back.
Vibha needs no introduction at Ghumakkar.com. An old friend and a close associate at Ghumakkar, she was leading the Editorial side almost till the wee months of 2012. With a strong literary interest, she runs her organization Literature Studio and works as an Editor in a leading publishing house as her day job. She lives at Delhi and believes that miracles do happen.
DL is everything. Youngest among the three, (ONLY) at Ghumakkar, DL guides us and is the light-house (psst.. he has some oil exploration connection as well) for all. To know more about him, his family and what drives him, do read our tet-e-tete . Trust me, you would come back more learned and inspired.
A big thank you to Manish, Vibha and DL for allowing us to stalk them, bombarding them with conflicting parameters, contradicting and cajoling them on every opportunity and being the source of constant worry for the last two weeks of 2012.
To share with you all, the Editorial team, after its own research and reading came up with 12 possible contenders for the coveted award and these are as below, in the alphabetical order.
1. Amitava
2. Auro
3. Jatdevta Sandeep
4. Mahesh Semwal
5. Manu Tyagi
6. Mukesh Bhalse
7. Praveen Wadhwa
8. Rishi Raj Gupta
9. Ritesh Gupta
10. Sushant Singhal
11. Silent Soul and
12. Vishal
All of you are the biggest Ghumakkars for me and the Editorial. Go and Celebrate.
After that, we agreed on some common guidelines and shared them with our esteemed Jury and the game began. After multiple rounds of conversations, jigs and re-jigs, we arrived at the final list. But before I announce that, a special shout out for Rishi Raj Gupta, Sushant Singhal and Praveen Wadhwa for giving the winners a fighting finish. All three of you were favorites to more than one Jury member and need a special hug. Congratulations.
And now, to the blow of a thousand trumpets, here’s the announcement of the fab final four Ghumakkars of the Year 2012, in reverse alphabetical order:
Vishal Rathod: A spiritual soul blending with a wandering body can only result in extra-ordinary Ghumakkari. With posts on several religious places and a few but exclusive posts on family-entertaining places, Vishal has made himself a renowned author in our community.
Vishal believes that he should write in order to relive those wonderful experiences that his trips brought to him. Tired of materialistic pleasures but fond of “Bhakti”, he pursues traveling especially to religious places. His posts are read, appreciated, re-read and shared many times till date on Ghumakkar. And what awaits now? A true justice to this deserving candidate.
Vishal Rathod is one of the Fabulous Four Ghumakkars of the Year 2012. Let us give him a big round of applause. Vishal did you hear the non-stop applauding? Well, you deserve it!
The next and equally celebrated w.r.t winning the hearts of many, SS/SilentSoul is the next of the Fab Four Ghumakkars of the Year 2012. How many of us remember that our SilentSoul’s name is P.S.Tewari? If you know then am sure you have read his interview! His silent soul has earned him this name and his expressive body and openness has helped him write several enjoyable and praise-worthy posts. He is a globetrotter, literally, and his posts exhibit a diverse flavor. His travelogues span from tales on mystical Madrid to stories on the splendid Himalayas. For him, the spiritual energy, the excitement, the adventure and the danger that the Himalayas offer is good enough reason to frequent them. While we feel there is probably no place SS hasn’t been to, he humbly admits that the continent of America, Africa and Europe are beckoning him for a maiden trip! With so many posts to his credit and such wonderful response to all of them, he surely is a winner already!
Our job is still undone if we do not formally announce him as the next of the Fab Four. Congratulations SS ! You are our next Ghumakkar of the Year 2012.
Ghumakkar Mukesh Bhalse ,along with his family, is a great devotee of Lord Shiva. You need a proof for this? Well, his posts say it all! He is the man who has vowed to pay a visit to one Jyotirling every year and who has been writing extensively about his magical experiences. His ease at writing in both English and Hindi has blessed him with many fans. Mukesh lives in the ‘Dil of Hindustan’ and his contribution to Ghumakkar also comes straight from his heart. Let us together congratulate him for not just winning our heart, but also for being one of the Fab Four who share the Ghumakkars of the Year 2013 title!
And finally the fab four finishes with a fantastic fella Auro. Someone with a varied line of interests; Aurojit is a popular Ghumakkar amongst us. He too, like a lot of us, is drawn to the mountains. His posts on the Himalayas have won several accolades and his recent Thailand series is a must read for those who want to stretch further! Auro, with his family has traveled to many places across India. Ranikhet, Kasauli, Nainital in India, Thailand, Bangkok from abroad are some of the places he has written about extensively. Talk about diversity. Without much ado, let us wish this voracious reader and a fabulous writer for his win in the race of the Ghumakkar of the Year 2012! Auro, Congratulations! You have made it and made it big :)
Congratulations Auro, Mukesh, Silent Soul and Vishal for the much deserved, much celebrated ‘Ghumakkar of the Year – 2012’ award.
May you continue to inspire, continue to enthral and continue to lead us, ever.
Wishing each one of you, along with your loved ones, a great new year. May 2013 bring with itself a whole new paradigm in thought, action and experience. Shabba khair!
As I am new on Ghumakkar so thank you to give the information of the last year & the members of ghumakkar family. I am really very happy to be a part of this family.
Thanks a lot Nandan Ji and congratulations to all the authors.
Regards,
Saurabh
Splendidly compiled and put together, dear Nandan, and congratulations to Vishal, Auro, Mukesh and our Icelandic SS from this SS of Saharanpur! :D
The best thing about ghumakkar.com is the fact that all of us contributors – authors have gained more out of it than what we gave in. I have been writing for newspapers and magazines but never before I was so hopelessly hooked to a travelogue website as I am to this ghumakkar. As a personal gain for me, I was not even a diehard ghumakkar in real sense of the word but in the inspiring company of fellow ghumakkars like Nandan, DL, SS, Jatdevta, Manu, Vishal, Mukesh, Ritesh, Auro, …… (the list seems endless), I do hope to become a ghumakkar one day.
Thank you to all the readers, authors and the ghumakkar team. It is only because of you that I re-discovered some lost part of myself – the love for writing.
Very good to know, it has been wonderful reading different stories on Ghumakkar. Heartiest congratulations to the fab four Vishal Rathod, Aurojit, Mukesh Bhalse and P.S Tiwari aka Silent Soul. Looking forward to another year of reading wonderful tales from all the Ghumakkar friends out there.
Have a wonderful 2013, keep traveling keep writing… :)
Many congrats to Ghumakkars of the Year 2012 ! All well deserved !
May the tribe grow….
??? ?? ??? ??????? ????? (????? ????? ??, ????? ???? ?????? ?? S.S.ji, ?????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ?? ) ?? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ?????????? …..?? ??? ?? ?????????? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ????? ??…..|
???? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ????? Ghummakar of year ??? ???????? ????….|
Many many congratulations to all deserving authors here.
I specifically mentioned this to Nandan that the standard of Ghumakkar is now way higher than before and quality of post has also dramatically risen.
Special congratulations to our great four Vishal Rathod, Aurojit, Mukesh Bhalse and Silent Soul.
??? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ? ??? ?? ??????? ??????????? ?
???? ?? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?? ????? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ? ?? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???? ??? ? ????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??? ???? ? ????? ??? ??? ??? ? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ???? ??????? ? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????????? ??
Many-Many Congratulations from a new member of the family toVishal Ji , Silent Soul Ji,Mukesh Bhalse Ji, and Auro Ji for the much deserved Ghumakkar of the Year 2012? award.
Congratulations to all the winners and to you, Nandan. It is indeed a difficult task to choose the winners.
All of them give each other a tough competition. :)
@ Saurabh – Thanks.
@ Sushant – Thanks
@ PW – Yes, indeed. May we all grow together.
@ Ritesh – Thank you.
@ Manu – ?? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ???, ????? ?? ????? ?? ??? ? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ???????? ?? ?? ? 2013 ??? ?? ????? ?? ???? ???????? ??? ? ????? ?? ? ??, ?????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?? :-)
@ Nisha – Where have you been ? :-). It was mostly the hard work of DL, Vibha and Manish. Myself and Archana were moving files from one table to another. :-). Without them, we would not have seen this post.
Nandan,
I am also a Ghumakkar like all of us here. :) So, on the move most of the time. Thanks for asking.
Tomorrow (today) morning off to Gujarat, courtesy Ford. :)
And congratulations to all of you once again for your awesome work.
Many many congratulations to Auro, Mukesh, Tiwari and Vishal.
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Thanks for all for their good wishes and congrats to Vishal, Mukesh and Auro. I hope the name of Mukesh is Mukesh+Kavita for this prize.
I also wish to thank Vibha, Nandan and DL for considering my name.
In fact the 12 names selected by you are all Ghumakkars of 2012 and all of them need to be congratulated…. the selection of 4 was just a technical data digging.
I fully agree with SUSHANT when he said -authors have gained more out of it than what we gave in.
Truely I have learnt more on Ghumakkar than giving to it. I learnt the way of writing properly, putting fotos and on top of all how to shoot a photo. Prior to coming here, my foto skills were just having our faces before a place, hiding it with our presence.
Last but not the least, Nandan must be congratulated for keeping this family together, giving time for arranging posts, finding solutions to the problems, taking time from his busy schedule.
A big thanks to Saurabh, Sushant, Praveen, Ritesh, Manu,Naresh, Desi and Nisha and to all others
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Congratulations to all the 12 authors who were nominated this time!
Special wishes and appreciation to the Fab Four for emerging as winners. I feel like saying that they are the faces who will represent the entire team of authors. Isn’t that true guys?
Your hard work has not just earned you a title this big, but has always entertained and helped the community of Ghumakkars. Keep up the good work and keep inspiring others too who are surely geared up for the next year’s race!
Special thanks to the Jury who really made wonderful decisions and helped us in this process.
Who wins feels proud, happy and excited. But who dint make it, there is always next time! For me being a Ghumakkar itself is a great sense of joy!
Cheers all!
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?? ??? ????? ???? ? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???
Ghumakkar Team thanks for appreciating my efforts last year.
Now coming to rest of the people in this race .
Sandeep Jatdevta and Manu Tyagi : First of all I like to bow, bow, bow down to you for your immense contribution of Ghumakkar.com . As mentioned out of 710 posts , 148 posts ( 79 Sandeep and 69 Manu) are written by both of you . That means 21 % of posts in ghumakkar were contributed by you this year. I know what it takes to write more than 50 posts a year with utmost passion. Sincere adherence and follow up is required to achieve this. Sandeep bhai you have written one of best series Shrikhand Mahadev along with Rajasthan Yatra, Varanasi yatra , Kumaon trip and many more . You have saved my life twice while our Trek to Bhimashankar otherwise I was already taking the name of Lord Shiva when I was climbing . Thanks a lot for supporting me in writing and guiding me always. Manu jee, You have travelled and written series on all the four corners of India and the Great ManiMahesh Yatra. Wonderful and invaluable contribution. You both have roamed with maximum number of authors in ghumakkar.com . Nobody can touch or even think of the passion for ghumakkari you have in your blood and fate.
For me you both are the role models in terms of ghumakkari and blogging . SALUTE to Great Ghumakkars like you. It was very surprising that you both are not even in TOP SEVEN. But I know these things will not affect you.
Ritesh Gupta : Really writing with emotions I have learnt from you . My posts on Amarnath Yatra are totally
dedicated to your style of writing. CONGRATS FOR COMING IN TOP SEVEN.
Praveen Wadhwa : Best thing happened to ghumakkar in last year 2012 is entry of this Great Passionate GHUMAKKAR . In fact I was expecting you get the award sincerely. CONGRATS FOR COMING IN TOP SEVEN.
Sushant Singhal : The best thing you have is that your narration is very sweet and one keeps glued if he starts to read your posts. CONGRATS FOR COMING IN TOP SEVEN.
Amitava : Your vintage tours are like a delight to read and watch.
RRG :- I would wish to do ghumakkari like you in a bullet if it is in my fate in future.
Mahesh Semwal : I dont have much to say about this great Ghumakkar as he is my role model from when I started here . I find his posts extremely pleasant.
Finally to my co winners
Mukesh, Silentsoul, Aurojit : You all have contributed to a great extent . Each one has his own variety . Mukesh has Bhakti in his pocket , Silentsoul has mixture of Indian and foreign cultures along with Khatti Mitthi and Aurojit has passion.
CONGRATULATIONS to all the three of you for getting this great accolade.
Thanks DL , Vibha , Manish , Nandan and Ghumakkar Team .
FINALLY and MOST IMPORTANT and above all ,THANKS to all my viewers who read posts with great interest, appreciating , commenting and correcting me in my mistakes.
I would like to convey my sincere thanks to the editorial team of Ghumakkar for considering me for such an honor. I am also thankful to all the fellow authors and readers of ghumakkar for liking and encouraging my posts through their valuable comments.
Yes I would like to share this honor equally with Kavita who continually inspire me to write quality posts for ghumakkar.
No doubt, We can’t forget the contribution of Jat Devta, Manu Tyagi, Praveen Wadhwa ji, Ritesh, Amitava, Mahesh Semwal ji, RRG, Sushant Singhal ji and Silent Soul ji to the ghumakkar. Hence a lot of congratulations to all of them for making place in top 12 list.
And last but not the least a million thanks to Nandan Jha and editorial team for their all time kind cooperation.
Thanks.
Congratulations Auro, Mukesh, Silent Soul and Vishal for your excellent work. All writers are equally work hard but you four are role model who encourage us to improve our writing.
Thanks to Editorial Team who work hard to published all stuff, and Special thanks to Nandanji who handle every situation with great leadership.
Congratulations to everyone! It is a great joy to sum up the year with celebrating the names of our authors! And a huge thanks to everyone for writing such great stories and and the love and positivity you aimed to spread.
Vishal, SS, Auro and Mukesh – congratulations again!
Looking forward to much more and wishing everyone a very happy ’13!
Congratulations to the winners of Ghumakkar of the Year, 2012. May you all continue to spread the travel virus and take us around the world through your experiences :)
Congrats SIlent soul ji!
Congratulations to the Fab Four: Auro, Mukesh, Silent Soul and Vishal. Their combined contribution has been truly outstanding. They have taken us to distant places we can only dream about; they have taken us on pilgrimages to many holy shrines which are almost inaccessible; they have enhanced our knowledge by unselfishly sharing their adventures and their experiences with us. Three cheers for them.
However, what I have said about the ghumakkars of the year is equally applicable to all who have had the good fortune of getting their posts published on this beautiful site. This is not a race where some win and the rest lose; everybody is a winner, everybody is a haqdaar, a bhagedaar. Three cheers once again for all the authors who have contributed a staggering 700 plus posts this year. Let’s raise the bar further and hope to break this record in 2013.
Congrats and thanks to Nandan, Vibha and Archana for steering us through the last year with such skill. It is not an easy task to mentor so many authors, curate and address all the problems, technical or otherwise. This year, I had the proud privilege of being invited by the editorial team to be participate in the selection process in spite of being so young (thanks Nandan, for recognising that age is just a number). My contribution has been quite minimal yet it was great fun to browse the posts once again and learn to evalute them with a critical eye.
Finally, thanks to the guiding spirit, the founder of ghumakkar.com, Mr. Ghumakkar himself, Nandan Jha. He performs a difficult task with effortless ease, almost as effortlessly as he conducts probing interviews with featured authors. He does not hog the limelight, quietly working in the shadows and graciously passes on the credit to others. His writing skills and diplomacy are evident in the superb way he has summed up the past year and what went into the selection process. Thanks a lot Nandan, all of us owe you an immense debt of gratitude. Thanks for everything.
Congratulations to Vishal ji, SS ji, Mukesh ji and Auroit…
Also , thanks to NJ for giving me especially ,links to many posts which I didn’t read because at that time I was not part of Ghumakkar.
Congratulations once again and Thanks NJ.
Congrats,
Amitava , Sandeep, Mahesh, Manu Tyagi, Mukesh Bhalse, Praveen Wadhwa, RR Gupta, Ritesh Gupta, Sushant Singhal, Silent Soul and Vishal…………………and all those Ghumakkars who have contributed the 710 stories here…………………..
…………..and if I were to make My list, would add even a larger number – all the contributors to Ghumakkar.com ever (known); and all those (unknown) travellers who have browsed through the pages of Ghuamakkar.com sometime or other.
………….This list, if it were to indicate one undeserving candidate, would have had my vote for one ‘Auro’.
Thanks and Congrats,
Esteemed Jury members, viz. Manish, Vibha and DL for negotiating those bouts of sleeplessness and the grind which comes complimentary while going arduously ahead in a true Ghumakkar style.
And Thanks Nandan/Archana,
Firstly For considering me in this glorified roll of Ghumakkar.com.
And secondly, for this engrossing post with all the elements – suspense, great narration, surprise and consequence of it all :-)
Thanks for those nice comments/ compliments – Saurabh, Singhalji, Manisha, Desi Traveller, Ritesh, Praveen, Manu, Naresh, Nisha, Anand, Surinderji, Smita, Devashmita, Sandeep, Kanu….
And lest we forget, Ghumakkar.com is about Ghumakkari – about our desire to travel and share, about learning as much as imparting, about sharing our honest travails of travels…..to seek beyond perimeters….. and parameters.
Auro.
Many Congratulations to Auro, Mukesh, Silent Soul and Vishal upon being named the ‘Ghumakkar of the Year 2012?
Regards,
Many congratulations to Vishal bhai, SS Ji, Aurojit Ji and Mukesh Ji for being collectively chosen as ghumakkar of the year! May you all keep inspiring fellow ghumakkars through your ghumakkari experiences!
First of all, Congratulations to Vishal, SS, Mukesh & Auro for your efforts and it was pleasure reading your posts throughout the year. I equally wait for Mahesh, Sushant, Praveen, Ritesh, RRG, Sandeep, Manu, Vipin, DT, Nirdesh, Surnder, Abhee Ruchi and the list is endless and I am sure, you too…so, congratulations to all of you. Also, a big thanks to Vibha and Archana for their efforts.
I equally wait for the comments of ‘DL’ in every post (his posts are real gems and I am a fan of him) and at the end, always pick up something which I can remember forever.
I am honored to see my name in the list, believe me. Though I came across this site long time back, my association with you all started in June last year and I am amazed to see the passion of all of you. When I submitted my first post, I never knew that there is a category namely “Featured Story of the Month” – so I started with an open mind, just to share my experiences. Thank you.
The nice weather in Gurgaon doesn’t allow me to check each & every posts during the past two weeks once I reach home or in the morning, but will go through them all one by one whenever I will have time. The year has just started, so you can expect a lot from me as well in Y-2013, a promise.
Finally, a special thanks to Nandan to bind everything together, without his efforts this may not be possible…always encouraging and spreading positive energies all around.
Damn again this year nobody bothered to recognize the loyal readers & commenters :-)
Just kidding.
Many congratulations to the winners, each one of them deserved the honor.
And many thanks to all other authors for sharing so many delightful stories with us.
Hi, Sandip…as a reader (myself), how can we forget the contribution of readers, commentators like you..it is only because of people like you/us, this platform has become so popular. Personally, I always enjoy your review.
So, let’s enjoy our stay here to the fullest, as a surfer, readers, authors, critics etc. etc. and we would also like to see you as a writer in this year.
Take care,
Mr . Stone ,
I still remember your comment from my post in Somnath because it was your first comment on my post. How can I forget my readers ?
Readers and Commentators are most IMPORTANT for us . It is because of you only and only, we write. Reader’s contributions are most valuable and substantial than anything else. It is only because of you we get this awards. AND My earlier comment has displayed that.
Hi Vishal,
That’s amazing that you still remember my comment, in fact even I remember it too :-)
Congratulations for your record breaking ‘Somnath and Dwarka’ post and wish you a lot more ghumakkaring in the days to come.
Thanks for the blessing.
Thanks Shubham, Vipin, Amitava, Stone and Vishal.
Auro.
Hi Amitava,
Thanks for noticing my comment :-)
I was just joking around; I know its not practical/rational to remember all commentators, and to expect any sort of acknowledgment based on the quality of their comments is not wise at all. A simple reply is enough for readers/commentators like me. For us biggest joy comes in reading others experiences, knowing new destinations, knowing so many new persons; Ive never met or interacted (outside of Ghummakar) with any of the authors/commentators here, but I still feel a connection thats important to me.
Big thanks to all contributors (authors, commentators and managers of this wonderful site) for enriching our lives.
Bhaskar and Tridev charan are two great commentators who have been encouraging authors, without putting their stories ever.
Ghumakkar should one day acknowledge their valuable contribution
Thank you sir for noticing our tiny-winy online presence :-)
Looking for forward to hear lot more stores from you, specially ‘khhatti-meethi yaadein’ :-)
Many congratulations to SS Ji, Aurojit, Mahesh Semwal Ji, Mukesh Ji and all others…
Nandan Ji it must have been a tough task for you to do this…
Indeed 2012 has been a splendid year for Ghumakkar…It is an awesome experience to read first hand narration of all ghumakkars. Being a Ghumakkar myself I visualize the places that are being written about. I come across so many stories of places that I have also been to and can relate myself to the feelings of the narrator.
Once again congratulation and kudos to all winnersMiles to go…
Thanks Harish for your kind comments,
Auro.
First of all, a very happy new year to all. Hope the year goes wonderfully for you.
Considering a whole bouquet of diverse writers with their varied styles and speeds of writing, it is very difficult to select just a handful from a community of winners. I first want to acknowledge each member of the Ghumakkar community – those who write stories, those who read these stories, and especially those who take some extra time out of their schedules and post comments on these stories. If it wasn’t for the unwavering persistence of these people, we could never have reached a staggering 710 posts in a year.
Ghumakkar hosts a variety of stories – each one of the writers here has a unique style. Therefore comparison becomes almost impossible. But still we had to come upon a decision and I would like to congratulate the winners Auro, Mukesh, SilentSoul, and Vishal – each one of you truly deserves the award. I would also like to congratulate Sandeep, Mahesh, Manu, Praveen, RRG, Ritesh, and Sushant for their brilliant travels and tales through the year…..and also for making our jobs so much tougher.
Being the jury member for Ghumakkar of the Year is no small commitment. Considering the amount of trust the editorial team placed in us and the host of writers to choose from, I feel lucky to have the support of rational and level-headed Manish and DL. Thanks guys for being such awesome co-jury members.
There is one thing that I should probably have said much earlier but I will take this opportunity to thank Archana for gearing up to the editorial responsibilities so quickly and smoothly. If not for her, that transition wouldn’t have been so smooth.
I can never say enough about Nandan. He has been a constant friend and a mentor for past several years. Ghumakkar wouldn’t have existed today if it wasn’t for his initial idea, clear thinking, persistence through thick and thin, and his wonderful ability to give the other person a benefit of doubt even in confrontations. Apart from being a passionate Ghumakkar and a wonderful writer, Nandan is a wonderful human being, without whose unwavering support, the jury couldn’t have arrived at a decision so smoothly.
All of us are a part of this happy, accommodating community. I feel proud of my association with all of you. Ghumakkar of the year is just one way of acknowledging the authors. In reality, all of you are winners and wonderful people in your own lives.
Thanks Vibha,
can easily imagine the unenviable job of being a jury member here !!
Equally proud of associating with you through this great site.
Auro.
Hi Nandan!
Great sumup of the splendid year and at Ghumakkar.
Congratulations to all!
Personally, this has been the best year for me as far as travel is concerned. I have been able to visit places like Mandu and Hampi that were on my bucket list for ever.
And finally I got found something to write about.
A Great Ghumakkari 2013 Year to all!
Thanks a lot Nirdesh,
Auro.
All four are deserved winners. Personally, I would have added Praveen Wadhwa to the choices and made it “Fab Five”.
Thanks Venky. Nice hearing from you.
Auro
Congratulations to winners – Vishal, Mukesh, SS and Auro! Haven’t been able to catch up on the stories lately, looks like there’s lot to catch up!
Thanks Roopesh.
Auro
Dear Friends,
My suggestion is , try to publish a year book covering all the travelauges of Ghumakkar.com. Thanks to all.
Dear Auro, Mukesh, SS and Vishal
Heartiest congratulations and Happy new year and Lohiri to all fellow authors and readers :-)
Hi Manish,
Thanks for your compliments :-)
Congratulations to SS , Mukesh, Vishal & Auro !!!!!!!!!!!
Tks Semwalji… long time no see ??
Thanks Mahesh,
yes to SS – long time !!!
Was away and mostly on road for last 36 hours. Just back after 800+ KM drive and a long spirited celebration last evening in Kumaon Hills.
Sorry for such a delayed response. I am sorry for being very brief in my acknowledgement of your appreciation and love. I know, all the insiders know that I have quite a task to deal with and I am ON it.
@ SS – Thank you. Not possible without your support and active involvement.
@ Archana – We have got someone who could fill Vibha’s shoes (or sandals) very well, almost a tight-fit. Thank you for all the legwork and running around in the run-up for this award and keeping me completely informed while I was on the road for the last couple of days.
@ Vishal – I hope to meet you again this year. :-). Hopefully I would understand some bit of Bhakti (I have none) and would keep more time.
@ Mukesh – Thoroughly deserving. Billion wishes.
@ Sharma Jee – Thank you for your support and understanding.
@ DC – Long time. I hope to see more of you in 2013 here.
@ DL – You are too generous DL. Together we can.
@ Abhee – Thank you.
@ Auro – Thank you :-). To share you the green-room discussion, you were the hot favourite for one of the Jury. Rest is all classified info.
@ Amitava – Very well said. Lets multiply all the positive energies and create a storm. :-)
@ Stone – Sandip, here is a public acknowledgement. Please send me a postal address where I can courier you a little something. :-). Ghumakkar is incomplete without readers like you, Tridev Charan, Ashok and many many more.
Tx Nandan…completely agreed with you and happy to note that you are back and the changes :-). Acknowledging Sandip aka ‘Stone’ will be an wonderful idea & initiative…Cheers
Who wouldn’t like a little something from ghumakkar :-)
I’ll email you my postal address :-)
Thank you Nandan and Thank you Amitava :-)
Hi Nandan,
Thanks for your compliments and of course for sharing the GR secret, while ensuring its secrecy (Shame !!! ……I refer to Salman Rushdie’s book where the protagonist, Omar Khayyam, has three mothers because they conspired to keep the identity of biological mother a secret and thus Khayyam is left guessing forever about the identity of the real/ biological mother).
Thanks again to you and to the jury members,
Auro.
@ Bhatt Jee – Long time. Hope all is well. Indeed it was a tough-task for Jury members viz. Vibha, D L and Manish. I was just a medium. :-)
@ Vibha – Sweet. Wishes and Lucks. Take care.
@ Nirdesh – Thank you. We should do the ‘Forts’ thing. It would be worth it.
@ Sarvothama – I did the maths and the logistics is not working out in our favor. May be I would find a rich guy who could fund this book :-)
Some of the comments have been curated and deleted since they didn’t follow the universal ‘commenting’ guidelines. The ‘Basics’ rules of public behaviour and conduct were violated and suitable action is being taken. I have written to some of you and would be doing it over the next couple of days. Please exercise restraint, do not get carried away and when in doubt, reach out to Editorial.
Ghumakkar at this point of time, allows its Authors to put their stories at their own blogs or to post a story at Ghumakkar which is already existing at their own blogs. In web-blog-lingo , this is called cross-posting and this is an accepted norm. Google does it for a lot of their own posts, and they have a lot of blogs. There were some questions around the impact of this cross-posting on search results (SEO) etc. For Ghumakkars and writers like me, there are pretty complex topics and are best left for the web masters to handle. My guess is that most of you have come through Google. Interestingly in last 5 years, a simple search on my name has never given me this site in first few pages. :-). So leaving aside the search result aspect, we allow cross-posting as along as it is your own story. If putting something at Ghumakkar makes more people travel, helps to build more knowledge and aids in the greater good, lets do it. If our intentions are pure, rest would follow (including Bings and Googles and what not).
I look at Ghumakkar as a hot learning pot which has given me so much. Each one of us need to find their own pots. If you have ideas then I am an email away for a constructive talk. Avoid using ‘Comments’ as a platform for general discussion. If this is not your learning pot then I very humbly wish you luck and success to find your own truth, cherish it and be happy with it. There is never any fun in being around as a bitter and worried man. We welcome all.
Finally, ‘Ghumakkar of the Year’ award is managed by ‘Ghumakkar Editorial’ board and our process is very simple. Choose top x names based on the quality of writing, total body of work and the novelty. Throw this list to a able body of Jury. Work with them as they need more details, clarifications and then come back and celebrate. The number of posts which one writes is one factor in this whole jig-saw puzzle. My advice is to give respect (OK, give benefit of doubt if you are really over 200 IQ) to Jury and Editorial and participate in celebration.
Hope the party is ON at Iceland, Delhi, Indore and Mumbai. Take Care. Shabba Khair.
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???? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ???????? (evaluation parameters) ?? ???????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???????? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???
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????? ???????? (Auro, Mukesh, SS and Vishal) ?? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??? ??? ?? ? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????
Hi Manish,
Thanks for the compliments; and compliments for such interesting renditions on FB. Gaining, as ever, from your wisdom graciously shared. Thanks,
Auro.
Belated Happy New year to all Ghumakkars.
Congratulation to all 12 Ghumakkars and fab four Auro, Mukesh, SS Ji and Vishal.
20,000 views and 11,000 shares special congo to Vishal.
Last but not least thanks to Nandan Jha and his positive attitude. Salut Nandan Jha.
Thanks Giridhar,
and one more salute from my side to Nandan Jha !!
Auro
Congratulations
Hearty congratulations to all the winners!
CONGRATULATIONS VISHAL JI AND ALL. I TRAVELED SOMNATH AND DWARKA UNDER YOUR GUIDANCE. AND THIS WAS MY FIRST JOURNEY IN WHICH I HAD NOT SUFFERED ANY PROBLEM, ALL BECAUSE OF YOU. THANX AND CONGRATES ONCE AGAIN.
Thanks,
Ravikar, Naveena and Dr SK Tumariya.