Most of us consider gardening as a pastime. But for a few, it is the source of a new identity and ways of earnings.
Mousumi Mondal from Kolkata is one such individual. She has been a devoted gardener for the previous 27 years and has actually constantly enjoyed being around plants..
Her family owned a stunning garden which, as a kid, she nurtured. However due to regular modifications in house, she couldn’t make something similar for nine years after getting wed. Finally, in 1995 when she moved to a brand-new home with a broad courtyard, Mousumi planted a lot of fruit trees including jackfruit, guava, mango and betel nut. In the middle of these trees, she also grew a couple of blooming plants.
But a couple of years later, the trees were reduced to construct a brand-new structure which left her ravaged. “It made me really sad but on a brighter note I believed as long as I have the enthusiasm for gardening, nothing can stop me,” she says to The Better India.
After that, her gardening technique moved from the ground to the terrace. Numerous fruits and vegetables like chikoo, star fruit, dragon fruit, brinjal, bitter gourd and beans are seen in the terrace garden. Along with this, she has actually also planted a number of kinds of seasonal flowering plants. In total, there are more than 100 plants in her lush garden.
Mousumi began her YouTube channel in 2016 to combat her loneliness.
Since Mousumi has constantly been a homemaker, she has a lot of time left after the everyday tasks which are made use of for taking care of the plants. “Even then, there was so much time left in my everyday schedule. When my only son left for Murshidabad for operate in 2016, I felt so empty. There was a computer in our home but I was not well-versed in it. My son asked me to watch YouTube videos of individuals from different parts of the world conducting gardening and I felt why not begin something similar,” shares Mousumi.
She then chose to begin a YouTube channel sharing suggestions and tricks for gardening. What began with her revealing her lovely garden to the audiences became landscape design ideas for gardens.
” As I am a Bengali, my Hindi is not so excellent. Initially, I utilized to get my phone and provide a garden tour every now and then speaking Bengali. Without modifying a bit, I uploaded those. But individuals came and commented to speak in Hindi and share suggestions on specific plant growing. In truth, it is through their constant feedback that I had the ability to enhance my abilities in video editing and gardening,” she gushes.
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Mousumi in her garden.
Mousumi, who didn’t understand the names of plants in Hindi, started to pick up the language, make interesting do it yourself decors with her plants and share them with her audience. Slowly her viewership increased and now she has a group of more than 1 lakh fans on the platform.
” Even my relative were surprised to understand that I am making from YouTube. At first, all of them discovered it a silly pastime. I spent almost two years refining my video-making/editing skills and discovering the language. However the positive remarks and income motivated me to make videos regularly,” shares the content developer.
Mousumi also shares that despite the fact that this is a great income source, it takes a great deal of effort to come up with fascinating material that people like. “It takes hours to deck up the garden and for shooting videos, lighting is extremely crucial. Thus, everything must be carried out in the daytime itself. I handle the entire procedure alone, from looking after the plants to uploading the video. It is tiring however so satisfying for the plant enthusiast in me.
There are over 100 plants in her collection.
Today, the gardener’s greatest assistance are her grandchildren who frequently appear in her videos too. She also teaches them gardening techniques which the kids like making with their grandmother.
Check out the story in Hindi here.
Edited by Yoshita Rao.