With February 2014, the blog completes nine years. It is amazing to think that a decade will be over by the same time next year. When I started this blog in 2005, it was just a place where I could practise my writing, share my wanderlust and narrate stories. It was a distraction after a long day at work. But I never imagined that it would one day take over my life and how !

The post where it all began nine years ago, Masinagudi, India

Early this year, I found my blog listed among 25 professional blogs in India. And that transition from being an amateur to a professional has been a journey in itself. It has never been easy. I often wonder if my content should be structured, if it should have a magazine format, if it should have more long form narratives or should it be in a guide format. And then I prefer it to be spontaneous, sharing stories at the spur of the moment. As I start on another year of writing, I humbly thank everyone who has read, appreciated, commented, shared these posts and also those who have invited me to their resorts, their cities and countries and have associated their brand with me.

The blog has opened an entire window of opportunities for me in the last nine years and here are some that i would like to share

1.My travel writing career which had begun way before I started my blog flourished thanks to it. I got articles commissioned thanks to the blog. Several editors had sent me a comment asking me if I would like to write for their publications and the doors opened.

2.One of my posts on Ooty was read by an old Lawrencian, now based in UK who was an author for OUP . He asked if he could add a chapter on blogging for the English text book he was penning for high school children and OUP got in touch with me for royalty and copyright issues.

3.Another author of a book in UK read my post on Guardian deities in Tamilnadu and bought a couple of photographs for his book.

4.A US based documentary house was researching a story on Emperor Ashoka and they landed on my post on Sannathi, a stupa which was excavated in Karnataka where Ashoka’s portrait was found – the only one of its kind so far. They bought a photograph from me

5. I have been invited by several international tourism boards and resorts in India to visit their country and blog about them.

6. When I was working in the media, I barely got any coverage, but then Sunday Midday, Times of India, Femina, DNA – they have all featured me now

7. A lot of corporate and brand associations have taken place recently especially with Club mahindra, Ford India, Nokia, Marriott International, Lufthansa, VIP, Sennheiser among others

These are the joys of blogging, a recognition, an appreciation and a realization that today I am my own publisher and a professional at that.

Thanks everyone for reading, commenting, appreciating and showing me your love. I would appreciate if you can leave a comment below, letting me know what kind of posts you would like on the blog.