Book: Burps, Chirps & Cat-astrophic Turfs
Author: Sonal Singh
Publisher: Readomania
Pages: 273
Available on: Amazon.in, Paperback ₹320
For me, the essence of this book is on page 129.
‘In a world where you can be anything, let’s be kind.’
…
As Mrs Choudhary wrapped up her preachy post, a wave of inconvenient self-awareness crashed over her.
“Hypocrite,” she muttered.
Aren’t we all guilty of it? Times, moments, days…when we are pleasant and kind to a stranger and short and grumpy with ‘ours and ourselves’? A shadow of it falls on each and every relationship in our lives, some more than others, and generally, they are the closest to us. That is what got me hooked, more than the bird rescue and Nat Geo blooper reels, thoroughly enjoyable as they are. Don’t get me wrong, the book is humorous, but its full of emotions too.
There are many reasons to read this book.
- Humour – tongue in cheek, outrageous, amplified
- Animals – of every kind that can fit in a home, ones that no one wanted, ones that only wanted love, then having been nurtured grew in confidence, and developed & displayed their unique personalities
- Drama – of every household, every wife, mother, daughter-in-law. The life of a pet parent and the challenges faced by #Madam_Rescuer aka Mrs Choudhary
- Ensemble of crazy characters – who are our partner, children, maids, in-laws, colleagues, and a freakishly talented and dog-boned literary agent
- Index – the chapter names…the author paid attention to naming them so creatively, ex: ‘Sweat, pets & floral regrets’
- The author – Sonal Singh – I have been reading her work for the past 10 years. Her command over the language, her pathological need to use humour and landing it every time, show and not tell, use of literary devices to great effect, her conversational style (especially in this book) and her love for animals…all of these shine through the book.
But, as I said, for me the essence of the book is the growth of Mrs Choudhary. She is me in so many ways (except I am not a pet parent); yes, still, I am like her and she is like me. Good at heart, a straight shooter, many times at the cost of offending the person in front. She lives her life in black and white. She has a large heart, the right intentions and the regimentation of a general. That is out of sheer necessity, for she has only 24 hrs. in which to take care of all those living creatures dependent on her. She may be an empty nester, but her nest is certainly not empty. How she mellows and morphs is something I could relate to.
And, most of all, she has dreams…dreams that are beyond cooking, cleaning, rescuing, nurturing. Things she loves, and yet, like almost every woman, her dreams too got tucked away because life happened. One of those, she finally pursues because someone came along and told her that ‘today’ is the day that dreams need to be acted upon, not ‘someday’. Haven’t we all got a story of that ‘someone’? How she takes charge of her dream and carves out time from her insanely busy schedule to pursue what she loves is so inspiring.
The other thing I loved reading was her interaction with her mother-in-law. Again, a story of so many of us, who are trying to navigate these waters to the best of our ability, even after so many years of marriage. How she realises that her mother-in-law is just another woman, like her, trying her best to do what’s right and hoping for love, respect and kindness.
For me, this book is a complete package. Drama, humour, and human emotions…The fact that this is based on a (mostly) true story makes it all the more incredible. True, the central plot revolves around the rescue of a sunbird, but in reality, the sunbird is the one who rescues Mrs Choudhary.
You can buy the book here –
If you are looking for a story on valour, check out the story For Mewar and if satire is your mood then check out Surkhe Ka Kamaal 2.0.
