A dazzling candle, an inspiration!

You held my hand, showed me new horizons

You were the lighter that ignited the flame in me.

(Image Source: here)

These lines are extremely true for the person who inspires me to be a better blogger with every passing day.

I started the blog Love, laugh and reflect in April, 2014 to just connect with my readers and write about my books. Yes, you heard it right. I was not at all a serious blogger one year back. I was an occasional blogger, whose main focus was writing books. 

Once I wrote a post for Indispire in July, 2014 where the topic was Are people losing the habit of reading? That was the first time when Gaurab Mukherjee visited my blog and commented on my post. Since then, whenever he found a post of mine good enough, he has left an encouraging comment. 

Soon, my second book, The Hidden Letters released and Gaurab was extremely kind to spread the word about my book and review it on his blog. I was a fan of Gaurab’s writing and after reading my book, the admiration and appreciation became mutual.

He was such an intelligent, easy-going, grounded and helpful person that we became good friends in no time. Shortly, he asked me why I do not write for the contests of Indiblogger and Blogadda. I told him that I am a content developer and I cannot manage time. He told me to give it a thought and assured me that I would surely win. I listened to him and wrote for the contests. And surprisingly, I managed to win 4 contests in three months. This definitely intensified my interest in blogging.

Earlier, I was quite reluctant to publish my stories and poetries in my blog as I wanted to save them so that they could be published in some anthologies. Gaurab eradicated my notion by telling me that I am just obstructing my creative expression by thinking in this manner. It made me think deeply and from thereafter, I feel more comfortable publishing my creative writing in my blog than waiting for some anthology to publish them. He encourages me whenever he likes a story or article or poetry of mine without failure. 

Gaurab also helped me to improve the look of my blog, enhance my Alexa Rank and interact with other fellow bloggers. He showed me that blogging can be such an enriching and beautiful experience. Honestly speaking, he made this passionate author a passionate blogger. And today, my blog means so much to me. It is as dear to me as the two books that I have written.

I am a big fan of Gaurab’s writings and I consider him my mentor. His short stories and articles are extremely thought-provoking, honest and soulful. I always look forward to reading them.

Check out his wonderful blogs:

Processing Creativity 

Processing the Life 

Today, I would take this opportunity to express all my gratitude to Gaurab Mukherjee. Thank you, from the core of my heart!

A dazzling candle, that’s what you are

Who don’t hesitate to lit another candle in need

Therefore, you shine brighter everyday

By spreading your light and illuminating people in need.

 I’m blogging for #YouMakeMeWIN to honour  Gaurab Mukherjee who has influenced me and deserves to be nominated at WIN15.