Flying with Grandpa by Madhuri Kamat. Published in 2018 by Duckbill Books, 72, Oyster Operaa, 35/36, Gangai Street, Kalakshetra Colony, Besant Nagar, Madras 600090; email:
platypus@duckbill.in; website:
www.duckbill.in. Pp: 74. Price: Rs 199.
Madhuri Kamat’s Flying with Grandpa is a charming story for young readers beautifully illustrated by Niloufer Wadia. It centers around a young boy, Xerxes Noshir Wadia, who is probably aged seven or nine as he is just about to have his navjote and who lives with his parents and his beloved mamavaji (maternal grandfather). The men of the family are easygoing and fun loving, but Xerxes’s mother is concerned about her son’s future. Above all, she wants him to grow up without the insalubrious influence of his grandfather and be like industrialist J. R. D. Tata. The story is full of innocent fun and games and adventures which grandfather and grandson indulge in, occasionally with the father as a participant playacting scenarios of selling watermelons and eating icecream.
On his navjote, Xerxes receives a lot of books and book tokens as gifts. One of these is a picture book on Tata where he learns that JRD was India’s first licenced pilot who went on to start an aviation company which later became Air India. Maybe if his grandfather learnt to fly and become a pilot, Xerxes could fulfil his mother’s dream and become like JRD as well as fulfill his own ambition of being like his mamavaji.
Top: Illustrations in the book by Niloufer Wadia (above, r); (l) author Madhuri Kamat
Though Sonji, Xerxes’ mother seems to be extremely strict, always angry and lacking in humor throughout most of the book, she is, like most mothers, worried about the future of her son and desperately wants him "to stand out at something.” Kamat drops hints that Sonji has been a jolly child as seen in her childhood photographs in the family album and shows she too has a great capacity to get into the swing of things and take part in a family race during a fete. It is amusing to note that her disappointment on receiving a book token as a prize for her winning the race parallels Xerxes’ acute disappointment on receiving no toys as navjote gifts.
There is a scene where the grandfather asks his daughter why she wants Xerxes to become like JRD. She gives a small smile and asks why he named her Sonji. Her mother wanted her to be called Sooni, but he chose to name her after his idol, the boxer Muhammed Ali’s wife, Sonji. There is a gentle sub-text to the story as to how parents tend to make decisions for their children and run their lives. The story may not only be addressed to the younger reader; maybe grown-ups could learn a lesson or two as well.
FIRDAUS GANDAVIA
Gandavia holds a doctorate in English literature and is a retired chartered accountant. He is a compulsive reader of fiction.