CHENNAI: When you devote your time and effort to create something beautiful, you aim to keep it for eternity. This is what propelled Annie Yujin Stephen to start clicking photos of the plants growing in her garden.
However, she never thought that her passion for gardening and the meticulous manner of pictorially chronicling them would gain her worldwide fame. Annie is today a YouTube star and hosts two channels. While one exclusively caters to giving farming information, the other deals with how to live a happy life.
“Actually, it was my brother who asked me to upload the photos on YouTube. The idea was to save them for a long time since even if we save the pictures on our computers or hard disks, there are chances of them getting deleted or corrupted,” said Annie. So, she uploaded her photographs on YouTube.
“It didn’t have any background score or commentary. However, it was well-received and one of the viewers suggested uploading videos. So, I thought why not,” said Annie. She launched her YouTube channel Krishi Lokam in 2012. “I was a bit apprehensive. However, the views and the comments that the videos received increased my confidence,” she said.
With over 3 lakh subscribers and over 2 crore views, Annie now earns Rs 1 lakh a month from the channel! “It helped to be a passionate gardener. I didn’t have to act in front of the camera,” she said, According to her, in the first few videos, she just showcased her garden. “However, later on, I began giving voice-overs. This enabled me to emerge from being a very shy person to a confident one,” said Annie.
A native of Angamaly, Annie at present resides in Kochi and has been uploading videos since 2015. “The comments that I receive have given me the confidence to continue posting videos based on queries that I receive in the comments box,” she said.
Annie also provides farming tips by making videos of the entire cultivation process. “For example, if a viewer wants to know the right time and process of cultivating turmeric, I shoot the same at my farm. Right from telling the time, type of seedlings to be chosen, preparation of beds, fertilisers to be used to harvesting, the videos showcase everything,” she said. Annie and her husband own a one-acre plot in Angamaly.