I am a type of person that curl up with a good book to forget about the everyday stress, and transport to another world to relax. Din about chins by Dr. Santosh Bakaya, is one of those books. It is the book of vignettes about the series of relatable interactions between a mother and daughter, a celebration of moments captured through the corner of a mother’s eye who watched her daughter’s metamorphosis from a chubby toddler into a confident young woman.
The vignettes are like illustrative images. They are snippets of a one-act play with enormous humour. Once you begin to read a few lines, it lures you to continue like the craving for a scrumptious fudge mellow delight (Roald Dahl’s Wonka chocolate).
The title ‘DIN ABOUT CHINS’ is a clever choice. It is not confined to a single anecdote, but the din is about the guaranteed giggles and chuckles that will expand your chins when you read the book. The narrative is in fragments, mostly jumping between scenes about a naive teenager arguing with her incorrigible mother and tantrums of a three year old kid , vividly comic and emotionally astute.
The evocative descriptions bring the book to life. Rich imagery and impeccable figures of speech in the pages will keep you engaged and rolling on the floor with a belly laugh. Dr. Santosh Bakaya is a lively raconteur who regales readers with her cohesive narratives. The author has collected the moments of the mother- daughter relationship like threads and woven them into the fabric of beautiful anecdotes.
Sprinkled throughout the book are a few scenes where they sent me into paroxysms of uncontrolled laughter like the author’s daughter, and as the writer mentions in the book, it hardly gave me time to pick up my fallen jaw from the floor.
As the author puts it:
“Oxymoron, does it allude to the moronic dimwittedness of an ox?”
“Oh, I forgot, you are musically challenged”
“I had been beseeching, cajoling, browbeating you to come and have lunch”
The chortles are warmed with warmth of mother’s love, as here in the example:
“I remember, child, your first tottering step, your first written word, your hugs and slobbering kisses”
For any mother and daughter, it is inevitable not to relate the little stories highlighted in the book to their own life experiences. They are relatable moments to be cherished as golden memories. The storyline is adorable with deep connection.
The vignettes are so incredibly creative that every reader will fall in love with them. I found it pretty fun. You will love it too. ‘Din about chins’ is a delicious tea time treat where natural hilarity ensues. Pickup your copy, curl up in a comfy chair and get ready to have a good laugh.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Rafiya Syed is a poet and can be reached at girlangela5@gmail.com
