From homes, women turn videopreneurs — for income, identity

Meet Nisha Madhulika. A Hindi-speaking homemaker, the 54-year-old lives in Noida. And runs a cookery channel on YouTube.

Madhulika knows only Indian cooking and uploads videos on home-made food, popular snacks and sweets. In a year-and-a-half, she has 15,000 steady, loyal subscribers. Her videos get close to 50,000 views a day and that translates into an income of Rs 15 lakh a year.

"After my children grew up, I was left with a lot of free time. I started writing a blog in 2008 on Indian recipes. It soon became extremely popular. It was the readers who pushed me to get into videos," the mother of two said.

Arranging equipment and learning how to make videos didn't take much time because her husband and elder son run a computer software business and were, therefore, clued in. Today, she has more than 600 videos to her credit. "I get close to 50,000 views a day. The appreciation of my viewers is what I cherish the most. My videos have given me an identity."

Chennai-based Jayalakshmi Sachidanandam was a freelance make-up artist before she began making videos on make-up and beauty tips. Today, she monetizes her videos through Google Adwords. The videos have also helped boost a freelance business, including a bridal make-up assignment bagged from Singapore last year.

In Hyderabad, Veena Nair took to making videos after she had to quit a high-profile IT job for "family reasons". A foodie herself, food videos were her first choice. She became the global winner of YouTube Next Chef, a cookery video contest organised by the website in November 2012.

Singer and lyricist Sona Mohapatra from Orissa was the first Indian artiste to licence a YouTube channel in her name in 2007. A popular singer, she now performs on international platforms, courtesy the reach and popularity of her videos.

... contd.

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