Ten Years of Writing, and a New Chapter Begins

  

 Last Saturday, 5 September 2026, my blog completed ten years.

Ten years of writing, learning, experimenting, submitting, waiting, receiving responses, facing rejections, discovering new possibilities and, above all, continuing to write.

When I look back at this decade, I realise that the journey has been much more than maintaining a blog. It has been a journey of learning through writing and growing through experience.

And today, as I complete the first week of my 11th year, I thought I would begin this new chapter with something close to my heart.

An invitation to those I admire

Before I start approaching the writers, bloggers and people I admire and look up to, I thought I should write about the idea first.

I am planning to invite one writer, blogger, or a person who has done something meaningful and noteworthy in their chosen field to contribute a guest post to my blog.

There will be no prescribed theme.

The person can write about a subject of their choice—something they are passionate about, something they have learnt, an experience they would like to share, an idea they believe in, or simply something they would like readers to know. If everything goes well, I hope to make this a weekly celebration every Saturday for the entire 11th year.

One Saturday.
One guest.
One story, thought, experience or idea.

It is my small way of celebrating not just my blog, but also the people whose work has inspired me along the way.

Ten years have taught me much more than writing

When I started blogging, I simply wrote.

I wrote about whatever interested me. There was no elaborate plan, no great strategy and certainly no understanding of how much the blogging world would change over the years.

Slowly, I began submitting my writings to websites and magazines.

Some selected my work.

Many rejected it.

Both experiences taught me something.

A rejection was not necessarily the end of a piece of writing. Sometimes it meant that I had to improve the writing. Sometimes the publication simply wasn't the right fit. And sometimes, there was no explanation at all.

I learnt to accept rejection without allowing it to stop me from writing.

Over the years, I also learnt things that I had never imagined I would.

I learnt to make videos and reels. I learnt, slowly and somewhat reluctantly, how social media works. I began understanding the importance of sharing one's work and connecting with other writers and readers.

I attended webinars, participated in TBRs and bloghops conducted by Ritu Bindra and Cindy D' Silva, and discovered how much there is to learn simply by being part of a writing community.

Books opened another door

Books have always been an important part of my blogging journey.

What began as writing about books gradually became something more structured. I started approaching publishers and authors for review copies.

Some responded positively and sent me books to review.

Many never replied.

That too became part of the learning process.

I created my own book review policy, which helped me communicate clearly with publishers and authors about what I could offer as a reviewer.

I have now also joined the community of ReviewMyBooks, another new step in my continuing journey as a book reviewer.

The world of book reviewing has introduced me to authors, publishers, fellow reviewers and, most importantly, books that I might otherwise never have discovered.

From reading to reading with children

Another meaningful part of this journey has been my association with Pratham Books as a Reading Champion.

Being connected with Pratham Books and its programmes has reminded me that reading is not only about reviewing books or writing about them.

It is also about sharing stories.

I participated in their programmes for children and conducted a few reading sessions at home. Watching children listen to a story, respond to it and engage with a book brought a different kind of joy.

It made me look at reading not merely as an individual activity, but as something that can be shared and passed on.

And then came the publications

The journey has also taken my writing beyond my own blog.

Recently, my work found space in publications such as Gulmohar Quarterly, On Eating and SWARA.

One of my poems was also published in a PoetrySoup anthology in the USA.

Each publication, however big or small, has brought a sense of encouragement.

Someone somewhere had read my work and thought it deserved a place.

For a writer who continues to write largely because of the love for writing, that means a lot.

The most important lesson: keep going

Ten years of blogging have taught me that writing is not always about immediate recognition.

There are days when a post receives appreciation.

There are days when nobody seems to notice it.

There are pitches that receive enthusiastic responses.

There are emails that remain unanswered.

There are articles that get accepted.

There are others that are rejected.

There are new skills to learn, new platforms to understand and new people to meet.

Through all this, one thing has remained constant—the desire to write.

I may have changed the way I write, the subjects I explore and the ways in which I share my work. But the passion has remained.

That, perhaps, is my biggest achievement after ten years.

A new Saturday tradition

So, as I enter the 11th year, I don't want to celebrate only by looking backwards.

I want to celebrate by bringing other voices into my space.

Every Saturday, I hope to invite someone whose work I admire to write for my blog.

It could be a writer.

A blogger.

An author.

A reader.

An artist.

A person doing meaningful work in their chosen field.

Someone well known or someone whose work deserves to be known better.

The topic will be theirs.

The words will be theirs.

The Saturday space will be mine to share with them.

I know that plans do not always unfold exactly as we imagine. Some invitations may be accepted, some may be declined and some may perhaps receive no response at all.

But that is also part of what these ten years have taught me.

Make the effort. Send the invitation. Keep the door open. Keep writing.

And if this Saturday tradition succeeds for the entire year, I will have 51 more stories to remember from the beginning of my 11th year.

Ten years behind me.

An entire year of possibilities ahead.

And, as always, one more blogpost to write.

Here is to the 11th year of Book Food Language—and to all the voices that may join me on this journey.