Book Review: 100 Promises to my baby

My good friend over at Towards Harmony writes some excellent book reviews, like this one about the comic strips she read in 2011. Usually, because we have different reading interests I think I should go on over to her side of life, buy the book she reviewed and read them, but I don't (set in my ways, you can say). This time though, I bought a book from off her reviews called Sita's Ramayana, and what do you know! I LOVED it. So I decided, hey! I should write reviews of books I love too. That way, maybe at least one person will go get the book I love and share the joy of reading it (thanks for the inspiration, P). 

Get it at Flipkart

So given that everything of late is about my early steps into motherhood, I wanted to write reviews of books that helped me stay positive while I was pregnant and after (for starters at least). 100 Promises to my baby is one of them. This is a lovely little book by Mallika Chopra. In this book Chopra weaves in stories, poems, reflections, and essays as a way to remind herself and others of the beauty, responsibility and mindfulness needed to be a parent. My sense was that she was also able to clarify her values, and her beliefs and stay connected to her baby through this book. That's what it did for me at least.

A poem Chopra includes in her book

She categories her book into different sections-connections, hopes, traditions, choices and so forth. And narrates several anecdotes, poems, stories from her childhood that will help invoke promises for her baby. Take for instance this section on Hopes, she gives you Khalil Gibran's poem On Children with a promise to "...hold you but never hold on to you", some of her other promises that I love include "I promise to give you the confidence to create new ways of doing old things", "I promise to try to teach you through example, not just words", "I promise to teach to how to create your own reality", "I promise to teach you that human dignity is a fundamental right".

This book is definitely not meant for a one time/one-sitting read. It allows for deep reflection into who you are and who you would want to be as a parent. Its hard to connect to a steadily growing belly when you are pregnant and Chopra gives you a way to do it. She writes little exercises at the end of every piece, coaxing you to think about, reflect upon your hopes, wishes and dreams for your child. In fact she encourages you to look at your own childhood, the traditions you grew up with and the rituals you embraced, and allows you space to ponder upon what you have taken from it all so far.

Examples of her reflections include:
Make a commitment to share stories, poems, and insights with your child about how he or she is connected to other people, the earth, the universe, and a greater spirit.

She also asks you
What do you want to teach your child about other cultures, religions, and ways of thinking? what type of world do you want to show him or her?

With 100 promises there are 100 and more ways to reflect upon and wonder about what is to be. If you read my previous blog on some of my experiences of being pregnant, you will know that it was not all hunky dory, which is why I craved for some positiveness, and that is what this book gave me. It gave me an opportunity to look at my pregnancy and motherhood with mindfulness, composure and contemplation. It also inspired me to write to my baby, and connect with my belly, so to speak.

During my emotional slumps I would feel very blue reading this book, I learnt not to touch it then. However, at other slump times I really needed it to instill hope, love and joy. So regardless of how you feel, its a good book to have to learn to connect with yourself. Also the book is a wonderful treasure for parents with children of all ages. If you do get the book or already have it, let me know what you think.