Moms Who Blog : Featuring Rakhi Parsai

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 meet Rakhi, mommy to a five year old. Rakhi is obsessed with reading and she also takes time out to talk with the plants in her terrace garden and decorating her home when time permits. Besides being a full time-time mother, she also doubles up as a communications professional and a blogger who intends to be a keen storyteller thriving on sunshine. Her blog Lifethrumyeyes has been a place where she learned to be a dreamer. She intends to stay one.

What was it that prompted you to become a blogger?

Being a communication professional and a bibliophile by heart I always wanted a book on my name. The desire to write a book someday led me to start writing and penning down my thoughts since childhood. I still remember those days when I had a personal diary of mine hidden from the world where I used to pour my heart out. My childhood love for writing and communication led me to take up media as a profession. Amidst the busy life, my dream of being a writer got sidelined. However, when I lost my mom to cancer back in the year 2009, I had no place to vent out. To write my pain, to pour my feelings and hence I created my first blog on Blogger which was dedicated to her. I used to write posts only about her and how she was the most wonderful mother to us. With time I found solace in writing and recently I started with my self-hosted blog on WordPress by the name Lifethrumyeyes. It's been over one and a half year now since I started my blog and there has been no looking back. So much for the love of writing, I quit my job recently to give full time to my website and to make it big enough for others to benefit from.

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

Recently I had participated in a writing campaign that required to write on different prompts per day. One of the prompts was to write about a virtual place. Since I was always very close to my mum, her death had a great impact on me. It always made me think of a place where she has gone. Being to me, she was the best women and I always dreamt of her to be in heaven. Hence, I wrote a post on how I met my mother in heaven. This was the most memorable post for me and will always be as I had those conversations with my mom via this posts that I was wanting to have with her since her passing away. The posts can be read here

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

The posts which turned out to be most memorable is the one which got me a memorable comment as well. A fellow blogger had commented on the posts which goes like this. “This teared me up. Almost a decade ago, I lost my best friend and I always wanted to know whether he was fine or not, happy and peaceful. I had prayed like anything for so long to just have a glimpse of him so that I can be at peace. These dreams are answers to our prayers. Once we know, that they are safe and good even in the other world, that itself makes us calm”

Have you ever been trolled? How did you handle it?

Luckily not so far. However, I had recently written a post on how junk food in moderation is not harmful. And Maggi being the key highlight of the post I was worried about getting trolled. But, it turned out to be taken well. So yeah, no trolling so far. Hoping it stays like that.

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

Yes. It has happened a lot with me. However, there is one particular post which I started writing and abandoned it as I couldn’t gather enough strength to finish it. About 2 months back I had a miscarriage and I wanted to pour the experience, the fear, the loss, the tears and sadness in an article so that it helps in fellow mums who go through miscarriage or abortion. Though I haven’t completely abandoned the draft yet, the day I muster enough strength I will surely put it into words.

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

Yes, I personally prefer posting every day. If not every day then at least I try and post minimum one article alternate days. I keep my content and calendar planned in advance so that the regular content can flow in on the blog. Apart from this definitely articles basis the inspiration around also helps in keeping the creative juices flowing.

Do you find it hard to get your voice heard in the crowded blogosphere?

I personally also feel that the blogging as a domain has become overly crowded with a lot of people trying their luck and hands-on writing. Experience is something that everybody today wants to pour on the blogs which take shape of something more deeper and the person becomes a blogger. Being a parenting and Lifestyle blogger myself I feel it isn’t very hard to make your voice heard as every experience and every parenting style is different. What I would have experienced with my child would be different from the other and hence my content when it goes on the site becomes slightly different from what others are sharing, thus becomes helpful as well for others. It’s like a race currently and to be visible indeed we need to come up with unique things every day. However, I am personally trying to make a niche for myself in this big niche of parenting. Hope I succeed and am able to make a difference.

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

Given the fast-paced life, it’s true that people find comfort in content that can be easily written and consumed by the readers/users. Hence microblogging has become quite common these days. However, I feel microblogging has its own limitations as well like the number of characters you can use on most platforms. On the other hand, I strongly believe that traditional blogging has a charm of its own. Since I write mostly about parenting I feel that mothers consume content differently and they believe in detailed information thus the longer post that traditional blogging has to offer become meaningful.

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?

Last year when I had started my blog I never thought of making it larger than life. Now after one year of hard work and efforts indeed I would say I am working towards making it bigger. It would be a lie if I say that I am looking to grow my blog alone as I am also working towards growing myself as a person as well. With God's grace, I wish to fulfill my dream of authoring a book down the line five years and to make a different niche for myself altogether.

What tips do you have for other Indian Mom bloggers?

Over a period of 1 years, I have seen and met many mom bloggers and strongly feel that the community needs to stand together as one. We should have a common goal of making our voices heard and to benefit others. Aside of this I strongly feel that content holds the main power hence ensure that you write regularly on your blog and make it stronger day by day. Last but not least realize the huge responsibility that we as mom bloggers hold on about creating awareness related various parenting issues.

You can follow Rakhi’s blog here