So Richa Singh of my favourite Blogchatter asked us to share a few things on LinkedIn as a part of getting to know us a little better in 2025.
I know Richa and Blogchatter since 2017 as a newbie blogger.I grew as a blogger ,making many blogger friends ,while Blogchatter helped me start earning blogging,writing and more.
My first job:
I tutored my sister’s friends .
A secret super power:I have a Martha Stewart gene.I cook well,bake bread and have a very green thumb!
A year you can’t forget
2000 :I entered Calcutta Medical College as an undergraduate.
An achievement you are super proud of
Becoming a doctor.
An Elevator pitch of introduction to me:
Hi, I am Dr.Amrita Basu.I am an ENT and Head-Neck surgeon with a very green thumb,a colourful imagination and I moonlight as a Creative writer sharing brand stories both through my blog and books.2025 marks a decade of writing online and you can find my work at https://lnkd.in/d8zA2J4G
#Doctor #Healthwealthbridge #Writing #Blogger #Health #Wellness
Writing
Nice Day for Doing nothing plus Audiobook Release!
A nice day for doing nothing!This was said by Daddy pig of the Peppa pig fame.I have realized you need to do a little bit of nothing every day.Quality of life improvement by doing nothing is my way of self care.
But what constitutes “nothing“,when you are an adult?Kids seem to have no trouble playing with cardboard boxes and old toys or making up mindless(to us) games.Its an inbuilt talent which we seem to lose as adults .Just like creativity and the inner genius ability to do nothing with joy is a childhood habit which needs nurturing .
My version of doing nothing is rereading a favorite book(paperback) or read a mystery book, curled under the blanket on the bed with my daughter happily reading her own newest/favorite story book or painting .Stopping the busy work of thinking and doing,needs a break and that’s where the connection to self happens.State of flow starts with letting the mind rest but not stagnate.
2024 was a strange year.The Abhaya RGkar incident happened on 7th August and its 8th January as I type this.I hope justice is served and the killers and all those who planned this get their dues.But whatever happens the young doctor will never again be amongst us.We lost a young spirit to evil at a place where she went to heal people while staying on duty for 36 hours at a stretch .I am glad I resigned in 2018 because the duties were too much and I couldn’t cope the juggle.Overworked and underpaid after becoming a specialist ENT surgeon was never my goal.So I left my job in 2018 and did my own thing.I don’t know whether thats an easier or a more difficult path.It just felt right and continues to feel right.I sleep better and worry less.Finding my own path is the best gift I could give myself and I feel blessed.Its 2025 .A chance to some more.
Incidentally I published the Audiobook version of How to Walk Write and Garden for the Healthy Life you Want .
Here are the links to the marketplaces where its currently avavilbale.It’s free in many of them,if you have a subscription!
Live everyday like its your last chance to do something meaningful.Because you just never know.
https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/17676757
https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/how-to-walk-write-and-garden-for-the-healthy-life-you-want-mind-body-spirit/859645
Sharing is good Karma!
Winter: Things I love (Then and Now)
I grew up in Kolkata where winters meant cool mornings,cold nights but daytime required just a plain cardigan at most.
At nights, we looked forward to the lep/blanket which was a bright red colour ,hand-made stuffed with cotton and was taken out to be aired, well before the nights we needed them.
The weight of those comforters were way more than the modern ones and the cotton in them kept us warm as toast.
Then came those Darjeeling oranges .Sweet tangy and just the right amount of skin on them.Absolutely binge worthy.Lake market in South Kolkata had some of the best fruits on offer and my mother ensured we never fell short of fruits.
Winters also meant the long Christmas holidays which a Convent school usually has.But since I studied in West Bengal board,the final exam of the year happened in December just before Christmas holidays. That meant, that particular school holidays were really happy holidays.
My mother was working at a Central Government office with her work place at Park Street .Come winter holidays, Park street , New Market and Kolkata herself was decked up in all holiday fineries.Christmas decorations and lights made the entire place look like a giant party zone.
My sister was working there from 2018 to 2023 .While coming back from work in December, she shared pictures and videos of all those fairy lights.That made nostalgia nostalgic!
While there was a school picnic at Victoria grounds or Nicco park where we shared ,fried rice,chilli chicken,dosa, ice cream and cold drink without thoughts of calories,seed oils or food additives family picnics always had home cooked food.My mother and aunts remembered to cook and pack luchi, aloor dom and sandesh for breakfast ,followed by plain rice ,dal,aloo bhaja ,mutton kasha,mishti for lunch even if we visited the Alipur Zoo .As kids it was a no worry zone about what to eat.We ate everything .
My friend Rukmini’s mom Debjani aunty,took us out for Christmas Eve dinner and a stroll down Park Street.Those were good times.
As a grown up now winters are full of picnics in mango orchards at Malda,New Year’s Eve dance party at our Kolkata apartment complex,winter vacation with family and friends, winter mornings in the village home,winter garden full of Petunia, Marigold,Rose.
I still love curling under a blanket with a good book .
New memories in old places and new .That’s what seasons of life is about.
What’s your favorite winter memory?Let me know in the comments below.
Sharing is good Karma!
2025 Resolutions or Creative Goals Plans?#BlogchatterWrapParty
3 personal goals for 2025?Some of them are truly personal and can’t be shared but for the other’s here goes.
2025 Personal Goal
Stop procrastination.
That’s also known as cud chewing in less polite language.It’s crucial to stay vigilant about this as it’s very easy to wallow luxuriously in the land of day dreams and doing nothing.I am a professional day dreamer while I moonlight as an ENT surgeon.
Exercise more
I love walking ,swimming, running in the sea beach,gardening ,going for nature walk,strength training ,calisthenics and yoga.All of them are fun and absolutely feel good.But the most effortless is gardening. When I garden I forget to worry about how many calories I burn ,it’s more fun and helps me easily get into the flow state.
More protein in my diet .
Since I want real food eggs and fish are my favorite protein source.Nowadays I am focusing on a hero protein for each meal and take it forward after eating my fish/egg/chicken.I love milk,home made chana/cottage cheese and curd.But eggs win hands down for versatility and ease of cooking.I batch cook boiled eggs for eating and nowadays free range eggs from our village are my favorite.
3 Creative Goals for 2025
Write more .I am working on the discipline part for the last 10 years .My number one personal goal is what needs work ,even here.You can read about my
Publish more Audiobooks. I published one(Krishna Misra and the Mysterious Movie Star)and working on a second one.But this takes time.
Paint more and learn more from my favorite creators on Instagram .Like I learned to Paint Calm and paint the God’s of Mithila .
The best part of the trying to do more with less
Learning how to find the fun and creative in the daily grind is my forever goal .My husband is the inspiration behind that.
Sharing is good Karma!
Why I wrote a letter to the Universe?
Writing a letter to the Universe?Does it work?
I wrote this blog post several years back ,but I think this is something that needs revisiting. You cannot ignore the power of your own mind.If you can dream it and plan it(and it doesn’t harm anyone),you can do it.
I dreamt of gardening, trees and my own kitchen garden and since 2021 it’s happening a little bit at a time.Its wild when I think about it ,but true .
Read the blog post too or share with a friend.
Sharing is good Karma!
10 Unexpected Lessons from10 Years of Blogging on Healthwealthbridge
I started Healwealthbridge 10 years ago.It was supposed to be a way to help people take back control over their health.Because health is your true wealth.But as it turned out my readers and my blogger friend helped me learn to live better.Blogging helps you learn.
Human beings seek community. They want to be around those they can trust.They know health is important.But.It’s a big but they still buy that packet of chips .Why don’t restaurants mention the amount of salt,sugar and oil in the food .Some restaurants mention the hero ingredients but not these.Plus there’s no way to find out about the type of oil used.Shouldn’t we be avoiding those highly processed seed oils and palm oil too?But most eateries don’t share ingredients, let alone their quantity.But as a doctor blogging I could share all that I know without it being unsustainable. I wanted my blog to be sustainable. Passive income is a thing I am still exploring but my blog is definitely my side income ,a part of my life but not the centre of it.The people in my life…they are at the centre of my life mandala.
I didn’t want to make things difficult for me by making itdifficult to maintain.That’s why I thought of writing on topics which came naturally to me while giving random gyan.That includes health ,wellness,making money and education.There were too many highly professional websites being maintained by hospitals,healthcare companies where the content is written by SME s and may or may not be reviewed by a Doctor.I wanted this to be about health care from the Indian middle class perspective .It needs to be affordable ,good quality,maintains dignity and humane.Tough things in the real world.But on the website I could do all that,without breaking the bank.Blogging is about giving back to the Community in a sustainable way.
But I couldn’t start typing in mother tongue ,though I wanted to.
I wasn’t sure about the audience reading blog or not.I knew nothing about blogs,blogging,wordpress,SEO,social media and was totally a novice about tech stuff online,But that didn’t stop me from starting blogging because it was the best way to get out of my mind.I was a new mom,with a new job in a new place and I was afraid I was not going to make it .I was clueless about being a mother ,the job meant stability but sleepless nights and other worries.The new place had its perks,It was close to my husband’s childhood home.The hospital where I worked was just a five minutes walk .In between the great adventure of being a mother exploring a new place and trying to build a career I felt out of sorts.I was looking for stability and the job didn’t feel like an ever-after thing .But wasn’t that what I always wanted?Or was it?
That’s why when I started reading Amy Lynn Andrews blog,Smart passive income by Pat Flynn and the inspired room.net by Melissa Michael’s I thought I knew the answer.I wanted a digital home.My virtual home in the clouds.It sounded funny and it always made me smile.I didn’t want to be only on momspresso and Women’s ’s Web.We know how they ended.It was sad .
It was also a wonderful way to make others smile when I told them about my blog.Blogging is a personal journey I am going through in public .
Blogging keeps me flexible.I am forever fumbling to learn some new tech or recollect about an old one and trying to organize the back end without going down a rabbit hole.Its a constant journey of dusting the cobwebs of my mind and reapplying the paint on my nails before I start typing.
Blogging helps me remember that showing up and taking a small step today puts you ahead of everyone ten years later.Showing up matters.
I finished a course on Digital Journalism by Reuters and if not for my interest in blogging, I would never have done it.Exploring the unknown is what life is about.You don’t know what’s going to happen next year,next month,tomorrow or even the very next second.If you are forever afraid of this that and everything in between, you will never be able to do anything meaningful.Walking the path which is calling to you is often a struggle.But looking back you will realize your struggle and your wins ,both made you who you are today.The bigger the challenge ,the stronger you become.Challeges and set backs are opportunities in disguise.
Knowing this is not enough.Keep reminding yourself of this .Over and over again.When you feel you want a soft life ,do something hard.Challenge yourself to learn a new skill ,mow the lawn,grow vegetables ,start a service business,write a book,Write a Poetry (which rhymes),learn a new language,declutter your wardrobe,repurpose the old dupatta…I could go on.This ability to stay curious is what makes healthwealthbridge.com work for me and it’s the reason I decided to do a soft launch of Healthwealthbridge online school some time back.It’s going to be a digital library and I have plans.
Happy tenth birthday Healthwealthbridge .You saw me through a decade .You helped me survive the pandemic lockdown and beyond.You helped me put down roots ,even if it’s online and you are the reason I was confident enough to write books and teach my daughter to write one too.
Thank you dear blog.Lets do some more good work.You taught me the value of persisting .
