Tarmak007@5! Thank You all for the wishes!

Tarmak007@5: Sharpshooter Satheesh picks 5 from his golden archives

A lovely Travancore Anchal Post box at Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington.

Rare photo of INS Vikramaditya sailing past reflection of moon in Arabian Sea.

A low-flying MiG-29K is in no mood to land on INS Vikramaditya.  

Sam Bahadur's bungalow 'Stavka' in Coonoor built in 1973, post his retirement.

 R.I.P. Sam Bahadur. A Life Well Lived. His last words were: "I'm okay."

THANK YOU BASANI SATHEESH KUMAR @satbasani

Tarmak007@5: Little Arnav's Sarang salute!

"Here's a small tribute to a blog that has been guiding me. Thought this would be the right photo to celebrate the occasion of 5th birthday. With a 5 Sarang members in a line," says Arnav Pai, the passionate shutterbug-cum-student from Bangalore.  Thank You Arnav!

Tarmak007@5: Stitch India Digital pays tribute to Tarmak007

Above are 3 superb creatives from the hangars of Stitch India Digital, who put together media platforms to weave stories that Connect, Engage and Delight. Here's their FB link: http://on.fb.me/1CtDHSW. Thank You, Team SID!

Tarmak007@5: Wonderkid from Mhow Herron weaves a magic video

When God sent 21-year-old Herron Waskel to Earth, he had a very definite purpose. To edit videos that touched your hearts. To edit videos that inspired you.

So, the BBA e-Commerce student hailing from Mhow in Indore took all the pains to email me this brilliant video to mark the occasion of Tarmak007 completing 5 years on the blogsphere.

A hardcore devotee of Tarmak007, Herron started editing videos when he as was just 15 years old.

This is the first video ever made on the blog and it's truly inspiring. Thank You Herron. You are my Hero!

Tarmak007 turns 5. Thank You!

Tarmak007 officially turned 5 years yesterday (April 5, 2015). Five years on blogspot (http://tarmak007.blogspot.in) and 2-plus years on FB. (https://www.facebook.com/Tarmak007). Combined reach: 5 million-plus! A quick Google search would tell YOU it's standing among other Indian defence blogs in India! 

So many wishes poured in. So many e-greetings, videos and creatives, including an angry query why not a single post on celebrating the blog's birthday. 

The reason was simple. It was a really newsy day. 

So, five years of journey in YOUR company has been great. Satsifying. My knowledge levels have improved, thanks to YOUR suggestions. As I always share, Tarmak007 is a blog propelled by YOUR passion.

The numbers have grown substantially. Numbers means more people are now reading Tarmak007. Stats point towards more youngsters hitting the blog on a daily basis. That’s inspiring and hence it’s more important that we keep the blogspace clean. To be honest, crystal clean comments only.

Clean blogging: Over the years I have blocked many followers for their abusive comments which lacked sense and substance. The other day one regular blog follower said if I ban people for posting their opinion the way they want, then many people would leave the blog.

My reply: Tarmak007 is blog that painstakingly follows Journalism of Purpose. The blog’s primary goal is not to attract more Likes, Comments and Shares. But to be a balanced institution that would ensure that the next-generation of readers (especially youngsters) get on to a disciplined way of learning.

I have a young follower Athira Venu, a 12th Standard student, writing to me saying that it’s the clean content that’s driving more youngsters to Tarmak007. There could be more Athiras out there whom we should cater to. Care for.

All bloggers are facing this new-age phenomenon of abuse and absurd and the only way to keep these elements at bay is to block and ban. And, not to take on with counter-comment.

Being critical can’t be abusive. And, being abusive can’t be critical either. So, YOU are welcome to join my mission of chasing a dream of spreading good content, sans the muck!

Policy change: At this juncture I would like to share another important policy change on the blog from now on. In addition to aerospace and defence, you will soon find my reports on Indian politics and badminton – two new areas, now on my radar. I cannot keep opening new pages for different areas I write. So, Tarmak007 will be a home for all that I write, of which 85 per cent of the content will be on aerospace and defence. The rest politics, badminton and probably everything under the Sun, Moon and Mars!

Even tweets (https://twitter.com/writetake) will reflect this change.

It’s a great pleasure to wake up every day to survive. And, I need to write to survive, a challenge that I’ve been loving for the last 23 years as a journalist. Post birth of Tarmak007, this journey has been truly satisfying in YOUR company.

Thank You for believing in Tarmak007. It’s not a blog. It’s my life. Your life. Our life.

Cheers!

Tarmak007