Dr. Linoshka D’Silva: Healing & Sharing on YouTube!

Dr. Linoshka D’Silva is a super talented Indian Youtuber. She not only is a certified doctor but also a certified Youtuber.

Humans of Goa is our original and official series that shares inspirational stories from the lives of Goans. Humans of Goa are made for and made up of Goans. Let’s get started.

Your Full Name:

Dr. Linoshka D’Silva

Your loved ones call you: Well I have different nicknames and I can generally identify the person by the nickname they use because it comes from different parts of my life. Really close family and childhood friends call me Lika – stemming from me calling myself that because I couldn’t pronounce my own name when I was a little girl, sticking to the 1st and last syllable was the easier option. Then there’s Lix, Lixy, Baby, Buchu, Nani etc. Nosh became very popular and marks the beginning of a different life when I met my husband while still a teenager. NOSH is also what I prefer people calling me.

Your Instagram handle is: @linotchka

The website or web link you run is called: YouTube – Dr Linoshka – It was my dad who pushed me to start my own channel. So, when the pandemic first hit, besides work, I also took it up as a challenge with a target in mind. Thankfully and luckily, I was able to meet the criteria to monetize my channel in under a year. So glad to have built a new community and grown the Insta fam too. It allowed me to personally connect with them sharing healthy recipes and seeing how they recreated it and enjoyed it with family. It started out like that and grew into other aspects.

You live in Goa at: Margao. There’s this idea some people have that I’m from the North, possibly because I get most invites from North Goa but No, I’m from South Goa.

If anyone were to ask you, “What do you do for a living, apart from being a top Indian Youtuber?” I’m a doctor, that’s my profession. I’ve always been so interested in biology since childhood. Medicine seemed like the best option and I’m so glad I did because it helped me so much and in turn, I’ve been able to touch so many lives through it. I’m what most people would call a nerd. Always a bookworm throughout school, the kind of girl who would cry about scoring 23.5/25 in a test. True story. Needless to say, I graduated with 3 Gold medals and also ranked 1st in Goa University. Since then, I’ve been able to pursue my other interests too – be it baking, dancing, art etc. I went on to win the All Goa Bakery Contest, received a gold medal in Cha Cha at a National Dance Sports Championship, won the Blenders Pride Fashion Selfie Contest among 25,000 entries across India judged by Wendell Rodricks –the prize took me to my dream destination for a holiday – Paris. Also won the Title – Prudent Mr. &Mrs Goa 2018 with my husband, featured in a couple of ads on TV after that and hosted our own show too.

What was that one moment when you decided, “That’s it! I want to aspire to become an Indian Youtuber with a difference” Well I’ve always been a very open book on social media.

Technically speaking, I’m a content creator on Instagram. Honestly, it was just me sharing and documenting my life and love for food – with all the baking and eating, until I started getting invited by restaurants for reviews a couple of years ago.

So that’s how it started, and food will always have a special space in social media presence. As YouTube started growing, I started doing other things that might help others – like to manage curly hair etc. The more I helped people, the more it fuelled my passion to do more, which materialised into creating more content which got more recognition with collaborations with brands and companies. So really, it’s a Win-Win. But I always strive to be genuine and authentic – with my followers, subscribers, just keeping it real, I think it’s important!

Why cover lifestyle, travel or fashion? What do these 3 mean to you?

Like I said , it started with food. And I’ve had some suggestions in the past about creating a separate page for it but I just never saw myself doing that. I mean this is Linoshka, I’m me , the whole package – I love to eat , bake, travel, love all things fashion , why put myself in a box ? When the whole point is to think out of the box! And I’ve never really liked the idea of having a page only for food or fashion etc. It gets too monotonous for me personally. Instead, here you can see the whole Linoshka in all my avatars, and I can be my true self which is when I shine best.

A bit about your role models. People you look up to when taking snaps or working with pictures to convey a story?

Someone asked me a question once – if your role model or someone you look up to would enter the room , and you’d just faint in that moment who would it be – the answer to that realization is my answer – Pooja Dhingra! India’s Macaron Queen, apart from the fact that she deals with all things sweet – and dessert is my first love- I love how she is so HERSELF on social media, how she openly shows her vulnerability, besides all her victories how she also openly talks about her mistakes, downfalls and lessons learnt. When I first read her book – The Big Book of Treats- I just cried – mind you it’s a recipe book but the Introduction had my heart. She inspires me to be my true genuine, authentic, vulnerable self. My parents and husband have always been so supportive and proud of anything and everything I do. They truly inspire me to be and do better every day!

Any inspirational moment you remember in your life that changed everything…

When I manifested the Paris trip through the most amazing way after watching a movie, “The Holiday” and I actually went there to Paris, living the dream, eating tarte au citron, Macarons and croissants while taking in gorgeous views of La Tour Eiffel along the beautiful river Seine, that’s it! I knew that moment itself if I can do this, create this reality from my thoughts alone, I can do anything!

Any memories as a kid you’d like to share?Something that helped shape you as a person? My strong fashion sense comes from my maternal grandfather, he came from a different era altogether – he would wear socks and shoes just to go to buy milk down the road! It instilled in me the importance of grooming very early on. Even though I have to admit I can be very sloppy too – keeping it real right ? My paternal grandmother lost her husband – my grandfather when the ship he was on sank; to this day, it’s never been found – neither the ship nor the passengers onboard. She had to single-handedly raise 4 boys – my father being the eldest in SSC at that time and my uncle just a toddler. She has always inspired me to pursue my education with passion and respect. Being a girl she wasn’t allowed to study too far in her childhood, during some of the most difficult exams, her inability to fulfill her ambitions, is what would fuel me to overcome my fears and excel instead. She too continues to inspire me, much more fashionable than me at the beautiful age of 81yrs! I get all of my artistic skills from my father – being it on canvas , baking creative cakes, doing make up now which is all an extension of art. He’s an artist himself.

When I was born- the 1st girl in a family of boys, someone asked my father, “Oh! You’ve got a baby! Congratulations! Is it 1st class or 2nd class?” 1st class meaning a boy and second meaning a girl. My father told him , “I have a daughter and she’s 1st class for me!”

My mother has made me all I am today – some of the strongest virtues she has taught me are Independence, Fearlessness and the Power of Prayer.

My mother has ALWAYS supported me – studies, education, finance, fashion, content creation, dancing, pageants, art, the list is endless.

Though we are poles apart, she has always respected my decisions and shaped me into the woman I am today. I owe my life to her, very Literally! My mother always wanted a daughter until she met my now husband. She couldn’t have asked for a better son.

The reason my life changed into a different trajectory when I met my husband is because he has allowed me to truly discover myself and all of the gifts, I have to offer the world in simply allowing me to be myself. I started baking because of him for his secret, not so surprise 21st birthday party and also because he loves to eat. I beg to differ with the popular saying –Behind every great successful woman there’s a caring and supportive husband! It takes a different man to hold that crown. Whether it’s his constant support, broad mindedness or simply being the cameraman for all my Insta worthy pics, has definitely allowed me to blossom into what I’ve become today! I am what I am today because all these people have allowed me to grow and bloom in this direction. Ever so grateful to each of them!

Who is the one person you’d like to meet from the past (personal or celebrity)? And what would you ask him/her?

I wish I could meet my mother-in-law and father-inlaw; I never got a chance to meet them in this earthly realm. Not to ask them anything, just to feel their love and blessings.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self? Be bold and strong, you’ve got this! You create your own reality so own it!

What role did family and friends play? Any quick incident you remember when family or friends helped you overcome a hurdle or challenge in life? Already mentioned how big a role they’ve played and continue to play to this day. My mother has moved heaven and earth on multiple occasions in the past to be with me, guide and support me through thick and thin, laughter and joy, sadness and trial.

What were people’s feedback (negative and positive), and who stood by you the most? I have very few friends (who I call friends) so thankfully I’ve always received a ton of support. But in all honesty, I am my biggest critic. I’m way too hard on myself.

My mother is my biggest fan, she will list the achievements I’ve forgotten to Mention here. She even remembers all my grades since kindergarten! I try to take negative feedback to grow. Life is the biggest and best teacher.

What is the legacy you want to leave behind? And for whom?

Your existence here on earth has a very specific purpose and every person here who you meet on the journey helps pave the way for you to create that reality. So, live your best life! And join in the celebration of mine.