I
have a new born at my house. That was the reason why I picked up
Madhuri Banerjee and Rohini Tiwari’s The
Flaky Mummy – A quirky guide to surviving motherhood.
As I read the book with all the dedication, devotion and sincerity, I
thanked all the Gods in the heavens for I did not lay my hands on
this book during pregnancy. Otherwise the newborn would have been
still born or would have suffered from chronic lunacy. Such are the
tips in this book meant to be a guide for surviving motherhood.
Having
said that let me tell you I haven’t read anything as humorous as
this book in my life. This book gave me a good belly laughter on
almost every page that I turned.
This
book offers funny and obviously insane tips on child rearing. There
are five case studies in hand. A Punjabi mother who comes with all
the craziness and colourfulness that surround a Punjabi family in the
media, whether print or electronic. A tiger mother who wants to be
the perfect mother. No wonder she plans her conception according to
the Chinese calendar. A fad loving disaster mother who wants to try
all the child raising strategies and whose quest for knowledge is
unquenchable. An American mother returned to India, a page three
socialite who marries a small time prince and manipulates everything
in her life including her pregnancy to fit into the ideal pictures in
the newspapers and in the words of the authors a
menopausal woman hitting jackpot with her last egg,
add to the madness that pervades throughout this book. Read the
following lines from this insane journal of motherhood.
A
fact that most diaper-using parents miss out is that as soon as the
baby has had a bath and worn fresh clothes, she will soil herself
once again. As I carry Priya, every time she relieves herself, I too,
am relieved of the clothes I am wearing. Within a day I am ready to
exchange all my wedding jewellery for a large packet of Pampers, all
without the blink of an eye.
The
nanny says, “ Now if you have one child, I can work for you. But
two children! Are baba! Itna kaam! I am no Durga! Two hands can only
hold one child. If you somehow had only one, then I would’ve work
for you.”
She
was the quintessential domestic maid who came with the whole baggage
of alcoholic husband, three school-going children and various other
problems.
At
my last count, each of the three maids- including Meenu three who was
not yet married – must have, between them, lost some twenty-two
aunts and eight sets of parents-in-law. As for the two Chottus, they
managed to produce six children between them, in about three years,
without visiting their wives in the villages.
The
author duo creates a number of caricatures including the protagonists
in each of the chapters. Interestingly they stretch real life traits
to the optimum and hence their humour appealed to me. This is a book
not to be missed. This is undoubtedly one of the best books that I
have ever read. I would love to read the next one in the series, if
the authors plan to have one no matter - planned or accidental.
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