Growing up as a mum

Filmmaker, entrepreneur and columnist, Natasha Badhwar has dabbled with many forms of storytelling. But the story she likes telling the most is that of growing up as a mother with her three daughters, looking at the world from their perspective, and finding her own path as a parent and human being while she’s at it. Now turned author, Natasha is ready with her book of essays called My Daughters’ Mum, a knit of her columns, talking about everything from parenting to marriage, faith and selfhood. The first of two books, the book includes new writing as well as previously published columns. She tells us about the book and more:

Could you tell us more about the beginnings of My Daughters’ Mum? How did the idea of the book come along? Was writing a book always on the back burner?

Well, you know, when you are a writer-type child from the beginning, there is always a book idea on the back burner. I am surprised that this has emerged as my first book. I began to get book deal offers very early after my column began to get published and became popular. I took my time to be fully ready for this book to be out there, ready for any and every reader. Ready to share my own story.

Natasha Badhwar

What was the impetus of the previous columns and now book — was it any particular character or incident?
I started blogging after the birth of our second child. I was sitting in my office cubicle one afternoon and I felt strongly that I needed to know and sort out all the complex, contradictory feelings that I was carrying within me by writing them out. I felt that I needed to integrate the various roles that I was playing, instead of allowing them to break me into small parts. I titled my blog, ‘My Daughters’ Mum – Mother, woman, lover, daughter, myself. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’.

What exactly does the book explore — are there any specific subjects it addresses (such as parenting or learning)?
The book explores selfhood and one’s own multiple identities most of all. What does it mean to be a woman in the 21st century, an Indian in a global world, a parent in these technological times, a person who seeks fulfilment in his or her work, and an individual with personal agency despite the pressures of modern life. 

Was there something you set out to achieve with this book?
Oh yes, I did. I want to open doors and windows, I want to let light into our consciousness. I want to take the extremely personal and find the universal in it, so that the words make every reader introspect and get closer to their own individual truth. I want to write from my core so that it resonates with every reader.

When readers see it on the bookshelf at a store, what do you think will attract them to your book?
I hope the book calls out to everyone who passes by. For me, the cover has a radiance that I hope is reflective of the stories inside the book.