Ruling YouTube With Cooking Videos - Nisha Madhulika

I absolutely love cooking. But the bane of the daily work day can even take away the most energetic of people into a slump, and putting yummy food on the dinner table is the last thing on anyone's mind. Or think about the college kid who's moved to a new city and is completely dependent on Maggi? Or the husband/boyfriend who want to surprise his girl with a nice home cooked dinner, but his culinary skills are a Phd in making toast? For all of us- the internet is the biggest source of inspiration and inspiration for foodies alike. And maa ke haath ka khana isn't a solemn thought, house wives and home cooks are using YouTube to showcase their traditional recipes, the art of food and make us all feel- right at home. Enter Nisha Madhulika who hails from Noida and runs her YouTube Channel, with over 1.3 million subscribers. Yes , you heard that right. It's a full blown business.

The love for food.

"I was raised in a regular middle class household of Agra. We are a large family and I have many brothers and sisters. As you can imagine cooking for this large a family involved a lot of work and took a lot of time. I was the eldest girl in the family and naturally had to help my mother a lot. Luckily, I developed a liking for cooking, and really started to enjoy it. The training I received from my mom, and the appreciation that I got from my father and my siblings set me on this course and today of course, I am known best for the cooking I do."

The birth of the YouTube channel 

"My family is full of technology entrepreneurs. My husband, and both my children so and naturally technology is something that we deal with daily and discuss daily. I love to share what I know about cooking and I started a blog early on. Later my readers asked me for video recipes so that they could learn the recipes better. With my husband's help I started creating videos and posting them on YouTube and my readers quickly transitioned over to YouTube. "

I was the eldest in the family and developed a liking for cooking.

The first video and recipe

"My first video taught people how to make rosewater (gulabjal). It was an experiment and right now when I look at it I can find a 100 flaws, but I also look at it with some nostalgia. It was a fun video to make and I really enjoyed it. If the beginning is fun, there is motivation to continue with the task. Now the videos we produce have gone through a lot of transitions and I hope my viewers like them better and better."

The video consistency.

"It depends on the circumstances. I've been facing some health related problems for the last few months, but recovering fast now. At this time I am putting up 2-3 videos a week. Last year I was doing 5-6 videos. I already have more than 1300 recipes online so I've cooked a lot. I am looking forward to stepping up the pace again when I am much better."

Keep up with the times. Don't fall behind.

Thoughts about the digital landscape of today.

"It's wonderful. I still remember the time when all we had was one channel, in black and white and we would wait the whole week to see the program of our choice. Now we have the option to see exactly what we want in very high clarity. HD, or even 4K if you've got a connection fast enough. These are wonderful times to be a creator of content. Production is no longer limited to organized teams and big production houses. Anyone with talent and inspiration can create videos using very basic and easily available tools, and can find an audience. These are times when video is truly democratic and consumers have become producers. I am looking forward to see what it evolves into next."

When passion turned into a business.

"When I started the channel, all I wanted to do was find a bigger audience for my recipes. At first it was that, but one day YouTube sent me a mail asking me to sign up as a YouTube partner and they will start monetizing the videos with ads. After some thought I decided to go for it. I signed up and that's how it became a business. YouTube has been very supportive and I've been able to grow this channel into a very nice business now. My family has always shared my vision and my aspirations and they have worked as a unit to push me forward. They've always been there for me. My biggest support is of course my husband who encouraged me, helped me, and guided me every step of the way. I might have lost initiative or gone into inertia, but for my husband's constant motivation."

YouTube is a platform. You are the talent.

The life mantra

" I believe in dreams. Everyone should have a dream, and everyone should chase their dream with all the heart, all the effort and all the passion that they can muster. I won't say that every dream will become a reality, but if you chase them with enough passion, enough perseverance, many dreams will come true."

Advice to the budding YouTubers of today!

"It's a platform, you are the talent. Keep your talent shining, and keep evolving. Make sure you're moving with the times, and keeping up with the trends. Don't become outdated and don't become a victim to your own talent. On YouTube or on any public platform you're there to entertain or to educate. To add value to other people. Don't focus on what you want, focus on what your audience expects. If you do that you can succeed faster. Of course, make sure you're open to learning all the technical bits. YouTube is a technical platform after all."