Where Are You From?

I recently installed a snazzy device in my sidebar, which tells me the locations of people who drop by at my blog and the pages they read. Then, they plot the visits on a map of the world with a dinky star – thus giving me an idea of the geographical spread of page hits. (Now, I know some of the engineers would be sniggering since there is nothing very technologically advanced about this but I am rather wonderstruck with technology!)

Predictably, India, North Western Europe, the British Isles and the university towns of the USA make up an overwhelming majority of my readership.
But there are a huge number of locations from which only one reader had come – presumably while researching chromosomal disorders or Amitav Ghosh – and hastily retreated.
But their locations are impressively esoteric. A random sample includes:
Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania
Lima, Peru
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Honolulu, Hawaii
Rimouski, Quebec, Canada
Mega, Papua, Indonesia
Daegu, Taegu-Jhikalasi, Korea (South)
Vilnius, Lithuania
Helsinki, Southern Finland
Istanbul, Turkey

Even stranger than these one-off visitors – easily explained by wrong search terms – is the location of multiple visitors.

My most populous readership base in Bombay with 190+ readers till now, followed by Delhi (110+), Calcutta (90+) and Chennai (60+). If I sit down and list the readers, I think I can come up with about 10 people from each city whom I know to be reading this.
What about the rest? Are they all trying to find out about Dharmendra’s acceptance speech at the Filmfare awards?
There are 30+ readers in London – of which I know about 5. 15 in Dubai, of which I think I know 1. There are 10 in Muscat, of which I know 2. And 13 in Singapore, of which I know 1.

Then come the smaller towns all over the place.
Some 13 people from ‘Nokia, Western Finland’ have come here.
15 from Durham and 7 from Charlotte (both in North Carolina), 8 from Salt Lake City (Utah, not Calcutta) and 7 from Lansing (Michigan). Another 15 are from Austin, Texas.
17 from San Jose (California) would probably be Nilendu checking in from behind multiple firewalls.
And these numbers keep on increasing!

In India, there are 16 readers from Krishna district in AP and 7 from Lamba in Rajasthan. Are the distributors from my FMCG days trying to see if I still remember them? Of course I do, Srinivasa Rao-garu!
In fact, right now, somebody from Nagar in Rajasthan is reading the Shilpa Shetty post...

Obviously, so many people from these smaller towns would not be coming due to search engine misdirection. So, am I to believe that they are coming here on purpose?
What is the real reason? Or, is it a sleight of hand performed by my ‘snazzy device’?

If the readers from the aforementioned towns do exist, would they please be kind enough to raise their hand and give attendance? I mean, how the hell did the 7 of you from Erie (Colorado) land up?
Actually, if any of you have come back to this blog, would you identify yourself?

Damn, I so hated to do this in college. And now, I am asking others to record attendance!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I am from Seattle, and read your blog quite often.
Love your posts on Kolkata, books and cinema.
Dev said…
Hi, this is dev, from Mumbai/pune. I came here searching for the Calcutta Chromosome (the book), but am stuck here due to your poetic prose and zany ideas..Do continue writing..
Anonymous said…
Hey,

Me from Amchi Mumbai (none of the other fancy places u mentioned; sigh!!!)...A friend of mine (a Bong, who else) suggested me this site & am hooked since then...Am a big movie buff & love the way you write about movies...And books as well...

Keep blogging.

Cheers,
PK
Anonymous said…
Hey I am from Hyderabad (and not Krishna district). Latched on to your blog from MM's page.

Sowmya
Anonymous said…
Hi Dipta,
I visit from Boston - I think I came by from Rimi's blog. Cinema and Life and Times in Delhi/Kolkatta - what's not to love?
ektaran said…
Hi DK, am Cal Chromosome's loyal reader from Bangalore!!

Landed here thru MM's blog.

Rock On!!
Diligent Candy said…
Hello!
Amsterdam reporting in for duty Sir!

And, tell me about this new tech gizmo, me want it too...if you are willing to part with the secret.

I read your blog because I want to read it - I owe no explanations.
Cheers.
Anonymous said…
I think i contribute to the numbers from Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Dubai, Muscat. Its fun to read about Mithun when you are surrounded by weirdly dressed people in some of the aforementioned cities. You feel like using some of the Mithun lines on these guys very frequently
Anonymous said…
Like you, Bong in exile... though in Bangalore. Grew up in south Cal, studied in JU (English!), quizzed at some time, ergo have similar reference points... Come here for loads of nostalgia, humour and the persistant refusal to take real life for real. Write on, dada!
Rima said…
My city, Bloomington, Indiana did not pop up in your list ?
I am a frequent visitor and commentator too...
Anonymous said…
I am a bong in virginia.
Most of the smaller towns in USA that you mention are university towns as well. Don't know why, just thought of mentioning.
Anonymous said…
Hi,
From Mumbai, wandered here from MM's blog, I like it and and will contibuw reading and commenting (albeit infrequently)....
Not a bong, but grew up in Kolkata amidst common surroundings ( my permanent address pin code is also 700 029..:D)..
hi dipta,

did you name Goa? i am from this touristy place, not a tourist though. i love bollywood humour and other eclectic posts you carry on your blog.

keep writing.

-- ashish
PS: i am a teacher, who hates taking attendance :-)
i came here from greatbong blog, btw.

-- ashish
Anonymous said…
i've been reading your blog for quite a while now... how come Suratkal, Mangalore District, Karnataka did not figure? Or for that matter, bangalore?
coz i'm a bangalorean, studying at suratkal, and i shuttle between home and college quite frequently, and read your blog from both places... i stumbled on your blog when i was looking for quick gun murugan and sambar westerns.
That was many months ago, think it was in april/may, i've been a loyal reader ever since.
Anonymous said…
I'm a probashi bangali and now a probashi Indian based in Atlanta. Though I'm not familiar with the nuances of Calcutta, I still find it enjoyable to read your blog.
the mad momma said…
gah.. did you notice how many ppl came through my page? you owe me big time fatso.
Unknown said…
Hey dipta , been persistently lurking for a long while from Bangalore and Calcutta . Love your bolly trivia and the common quizzing interests .
Path:greatbong-->Rimi-->dipta
Anonymous said…
'allo there!

I've read your blog from Boston, NYC, Mumbai, Chennai and London, so surely your system must be counting moi multiple times? considering they have all been from different comps?

also, for some strange reason I always, absolutely always, go to your page to go to MM's page! its almost as though I cannot type in a new id in the address bar! so your hit rate would have gone up quite a bit these past few months!

hmm?

Uma
Anonymous said…
An unusual percentage of your readership are Females.
Anonymous said…
Hey, I must be contributing to some of those SJ, California hits! Came in via MM's blog.. You are funny :)
hey!!

I wandered on your page through MM's blog and have been a regular since. I enjoy your humorous obsession with movie, music literature and anything that makes life a smile.
I also enjoyed you wife's updates on your son. And still keep checking...
Keep writing,
udayan said…
Roll No. 27? Absent, sir.

Sorry, couldn't resist a soft dig at this thoroughly self indulgent exercise. I mean who gives a damn :))

And guess who is spending Pujo AND Kalipujo in Cal ... :))
@ Udayan: The ulterior motive of this exercise was to see if I can get some discounts from the 13 guys from Nokia in Western Finland! Damn...

@ All: Thanks. Normal programming will resume soon.
Hi Dipta, I came to know your blog's existence while searching for Amitav Ghosh's Calcutta Chromosome. I am in Bombay now. I referred your blog to many in Bombay. That may be a reason for your popularity in Bombay.But why do you bother to know the names ? Anyway, I am hooked to your writing style. Keep it up.
Anonymous said…
Sinu James from Bangalore - Present Sir!!
Sam said…
abt those readers from quite weird palces, have you bothered to chk their visit duration??
anywyz, abt me.. well i landed up here thanx to Rimi.. i.e. thru her blog!!
cheerio...
Mala said…
Mala here from Delhi.. another member of the contingent that came here via the MM :-)

Love the Bollywood pieces, and the quiz ones.
Lavs said…
you know that I am a regular reader here...have you visited my page??? or you lurk there?:-)
neuralchaos said…
Servus

Lot younger than you but share the same views as you on college days and I commented about it in one of your posts. Based in Berlin mentally and in Munich physically. Try to do research these days until the lab fairy forces me to say...damn...another failed experiment! and retire back to the comp to read your blogs. Came across you while looking for Samaresh's Arjun...i guess because of your post on books. Love it, keep going...!
Minka said…
Present saar, from Chennai. And no , I am not from your FMCG days .

Again, here from MMs. But she got rid of her blogroll, boo hoo !! So now I acually have to remember and type in URLs. Am too lazy to set up reader or RSS.

Minka
Squiggles Mom said…
Another MM gang member :) from Singapore. So be nice to her.....
Shantaram said…
On a boring, day, thought of quiz blogs - at least that's how I remember finding CC. Amble in once in a while now: helps me hold my own on general stuff with my Bong bro-in-law, even if I can't pronounce (or even read) the Bonglish.

Am from Chennai - but if you wish, I can proxy for Timbuktu, Mali as well!

Shantaram
DaysasIremember said…
Hi,
I visit your blog from Surrey, Uk.

K