With this “Chill Chat With Cool Bloggers” series,  I feel extremely happy to feature my best blog buddy and a lovely blogger Alpana Deo of Mothers Gurukul. She blogs about Motherhood and Parenting Stories.

We had our chill chat to know more about her blogging journey and her fun side. Carry on to enjoy her words of wisdom.

 

Chill Chat With Cool Blogger Ms. Alpana Deo

 

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Hello, Alpana! Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Alpana: I am Alpana Deo. I am currently located in Houston, TX. We are a family of four – me, my husband and two kids.  Apart from mommy role, another thing which gives me immense satisfaction is my blog. I always had an inclination towards writing but it was a pastime for me. But after Mothers Gurukul came into the picture, it gave me a totally new direction – a direction which I knew but never explored as a blogger. Today I am Mothers Gurukul mom. I have written articles for various other websites and I am also NRI Contributor and Citizen Journalist for Times of India.

Q1.An ever since moment in your blogger life or your turning point in blogging.

Alpana: I am still waiting for that moment which I can address as a turning point. But there are two milestones in my blogging journey. After marriage, I came to the USA on a dependent visa which means I wasn’t allowed to work. I started writing about short travelogues and I used to send it to my family. We were in Austin that time. Later when I took up the mommy role, that was the time a writer in me was actually born. As my daughter grew, with her I grew as a mom; as a person.

 

As my daughter grew, with her I grew as a mom; as a person. 

– Alpana Deo

 

My perspective got different shades. Living miles away from my own country and trying to pass on cultural values to my daughter wasn’t very easy. But I tried and still trying my best to pass it on to her and now to my son whatever little I know. I started writing for Austin Local South Asian Newsletter and I was lucky to get my very first article published “Mothertongue- a blessing for Indian Kids. Later, I started my own website www.mothersgurukul.com. To take a step further, I applied for Times of India as NRI Contributor and to my surprise, I got accepted. I have written couple of articles for them. I do not write regularly for TOI as the topics are very specific. But getting accepted by India’s most prestigious newspaper meant a lot to me. I will call this as my second milestone. It was definitely a morale booster for me.  

Q2. Your definition of blog success.

Alpana: To me, success means when I can connect with other moms through my writing. When I get the recognition as Mothers Gurukul mom, that’s a success for me. When I get comments saying, “we feel connected to you. please keep on writing. Or “your posts are full of positivity.” – that’s a success for me. If I am able to bring a difference or a positive change in moms reading my posts, I feel that I am doing justice for the purpose of starting this website.

Q3. Your top 2 regular practices that have helped you in blogging.

Alpana: I believe in Discipline and Patience.

Blogging is all about creating good content and regularity in posting. I will not say, I am an established blogger. There is so much I have to achieve. But two things that have helped me so far are discipline in writing and patience. There are days when I am not able to keep up with my schedule. For example, after my son’s birth, I couldn’t sit and write for almost a month as I had a c-section and I was in pain. I drafted my posts in advance and I was just publishing it. I remember few of my readers asked me “how come you are back into your schedule within two weeks of your delivery?”

Patience because it is not necessary to get desired results overnight. We have to work hard. Not all the posts will perform the way you expect.

Q4. Your motivational factor for your best blog.

Alpana: That’s a tough question Vasantha. I feel my best blog is yet to be written. But I have few that are dear to me. Talking about the motivational factor part then conversation I have with other parents, my own observations and issues I face while dealing with my own kids are my motivation for the blogs I write.

Q5. One relationship who contributed to making your blog.

Alpana: Actually, it’s not one but two relationships. First, my kids. They are my biggest source of inspiration. My daughter often says “when you will become famous, the whole world will know you. You will come to my school too”. Such words coming from my own child means a lot to me.

Second is my better half. I think when you are passionate about something, your close ones should understand and appreciate its value too. Even if you are the only one doing the job but if you have a good support system then the journey becomes enjoyable. My husband knows what writing means to me. There were days, after my son’s birth when I wasn’t able to get time to write and that was kind of frustrating for me. Thanks to him who kept on encouraging me to keep going. I don’t think, without his support and encouragement I can do what I am doing today.

Q6. One factor, out of your comfort zone in blogging.

Alpana: As I am getting to understand blogging, I am realizing it is not just about writing but also it should reach to the public. And that’s where the importance of social media, social platforms come into the picture. Sometimes, I struggle to handle social platforms. Nowadays, there are so many groups, communities on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc. that keeping up with all becomes a challenge for me. I really want to find out a way so that I can channelize it all.

Q7. A book / movie / person / blog that transformed you.

Alpana: I can’t name one in particular. But there is one Marathi book – “Gharoghari Dnyaneshwar Janmati” which helped me a lot on understanding parenting.

Q8. Your strength and weakness as a blogger.

Alpana: Strength is my regularity and potentiality to get connected to my readers. And now I can write on any topic in less time. Earlier, it used to take me few days to draft my post but now I can write spontaneously.

Weakness as I mentioned earlier, handling social media. I want to be more efficient in balancing writing and social media.

Q9. One principle you are proud of.

Alpana: Hard work. There is no shortcut to success. One has to work hard to achieve the end goal. It is tough, requires patience, positive attitude but it gives results you will be proud of.

Q10. Blogging tips to share with your readers.

Alpana: Be honest with yourself and your writing. Follow your heart. Then only you would be able to do justice to your writing. Blogging is not about writing-publishing. It’s about seeing yourself grow with each writing piece. Second is put sincere efforts. Success is not just about getting famous but it is more about how you connect with your readers.

 

Bullet Questions 

Best Blog  – https://rattlebabblebattle.com (I like how Priyadarshani comes up with different activities for kids). www.lovethatyoucanbuy.com (I like Danisha’s writing style. She presents the topic with a touch of humor)

Best Blogger Friend – Why just one? I have more than one..:) Rakhi Parsai ((I have a special connection with Rakhi. She is my first blogger friend and we connect at a different level apart from just blogging). I have a lot of blogger friends who keep inspiring me. We crack jokes, get serious when working, come together when someone needs helps support. What else can one expect? It is hard to be in touch with everyone but to name a few then Vasantha, Priyadarshani Panda, Neha Gupta, Shalu Sharma, Danisha, Aesha, Anubhuti.

Best Dream – Yet to come. But it would be when I will publish my first book as an author. 🙂

Best Food – Pani Puri.

Best Book – The Calling, A Thousand Splendid Suns

Best TV Series – Quantico, Humsafar & Unch Majha Zoka (Marathi)

Best Life Motto – Everything happens for a reason. Give your best at every moment. You never know opportunity knocks from which door.

 

 

Thanks much Alpana for this awesome interview. We feel proud to have you as our Featured Cool Blogger. Dear readers, please leave your queries, if any, in the comment section and we will try to get them answered by her.

 

Meet you at next chill chat with another cool blogger !!!

 

Linking this post with #MondayMusings hosted by Corinne.

 

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