Moms Who Blog : Featuring Anandika Sood

Hello and welcome to Mom Blogger October on the Times of Amma. As regular readers know, the Times Of Amma community is all about inspiring Moms and building them up as they work on being themselves and Mothers. And so, this month is dedicated to featuring Moms who are working on being themselves and mothers, while expressing themselves through their blogs.

Today, we feature Anandika Sood who blogs on life in general and parenting at her blog, Outpouring. Aanandika aspires to be a rolling stone that gathers a lot of moss. After more than eight years of writing copies and columns, editing and scripting stories and honing her PR skills, she is now playing the part of a freelance writer and mummy to three, her youngest (being her husband) has just turned 37. She arrived in Kolkata towards the end of the year 2011 and has discovered a part of the soul of the city residing in her and has since then, vehemently, refused to leave it. Aanandika has repeatedly refused work related offers for short change but has willingly written free-of- cost where fancy has struck.

What was it that prompted you to become a blogger? Initially I just wanted to write. As the name suggests there was a lot inside which I needed to pour out so I started to blog.

Which has been your most memorable post to date and why?

I think the post I wrote about daughters (Its a daughter’s thing) has been the most memorable post to date because I hold it very close to my heart. It is a post for my daughter as well as for my mother.

What has the most memorable comment on your blog been so far?

On a post I had written on marriage (Gear up, you are getting married!) I was given a few tips by a dear darling friend who is senior to me in years that particular comment has been coming back to me every day for some cud-chewing hence going down as the most memorable one too.

Have you ever started to write a post and then abandoned it? Why?

Oh many a times! Sometimes because the baby/ babies or the household has beckoned. Sometimes my own thoughts have left me midway in the noise of daily chores.

Do you stick to a regular posting schedule or do you post whenever inspiration strikes? Do you have a writing routine?

No, unfortunately I do not have a writing schedule and even at times fail to post when the inspiration strikes though now that the younger one has grown out of toddlerhood I am aiming at sticking to some kind of a time table.

Many say that blogging is dead thanks to other micro-blogging avenues like Twitter, Snapchat and others. As the owner of a traditional blog, how would you respond to that?

The micro-blogging sites have had an impact. I myself am more active on Instagram but then I think the charm of a traditional blog is here to stay

Do you see your blog as a stepping stone to something else? Do you see yourself wearing the tag of 'blogger' five years down the line?

Yes and yes. I have seen bloggers turn into authors and I won’t mind that happening to me at all!

What tips do you have for other Indian Mom bloggers?

Ah! Though I am hardly in any position to comment on that from the pov of a ‘writer’ still being an ‘experienced’ blogger I would suggest that you must keep replugging your blog as and when possible. Also you must plug it via different platforms such as the micro-blogging sites like twitter.

You can follow Anandika's blog here: