Hi Everybody,

I am a writer. I live in Mumbai and I manage to earn my living by writing few letters by the side of a sub urban law court. I have a typewriter and that is my life. So maybe you need to read this story slowly as I am finding it difficult to type on a computer and am typing slow, for each word that is coming to my mind is traveling slowly.

I write normal application letters for the poor people as they cannot write it themselves. I take a small amount of 10 rupees per letter. And this is the source of my survival. I studied till 12th class and then came Mumbai for job search. I was good at studies but my family could not support my further studies and hence I was enrolled in a college in Mumbai and was asked to do some job along with studies. But even after six months I got no job and hence I started on my own with help of my friend. He gave me an old typewriter. This is my start-up. I earn good but just enough.

I got introduced to this place by a an advocate. His son was writing an article for a competition and making everyone read his story, he may get few thousand in cash if he wins. So I came to a cyber cafe to take part. Cafe owner will take 10 rupees for one hour. I cannot take more than an hour or two for writing this article. I prefer not to. Already 20 minutes gone in opening Gmail and understanding how to take part in this competition. Anyway am writing and I would be happy that I took part.

Also, I read a few posts from the large pool of brilliant articles. They were great, a poem and a short story was all I could do in last five minutes. Also I read the code and about page before I log on to WriterBabu. I saw the diary section and I saw the books. Great.

It seems people write to express and to have fun as "keep writing ... writing is fun ..." suggests. And this idea is not very alien to me as such. I once heard a guy boasting how his love for writing is so pure that he don't even need money when he is asked to write. He was a brilliant writer. He could have earned a lot. People respected him.

I love writing too and I have fun while I write in my diary with my five year old reynolds pen. But I write for money. Yes, I write for money and people dis-respect me, as if I am a criminal. People have a notion, a wrong notion about money. That money is bad and someone who use his art, his talent for money, he is not a true artist. I don't understand.

And I want to ask this question and that is why I choose this topic of "why do I write". Do you also think that writing "not for money" is the prerequisite for being a true artist?

So please share this article on your Facebook and twitter as I can't because I can't pay for cyber cafe bills each day to promote my article and win. Help me win ... :)

http://ravithegeniuswriter.blogspot.in/2013/05/why-do-i-write.html

- By Ravi

Tags: WBC

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