Parent Trap

When author Daman Singh was pondering over the subject of her second novel,she found inspiration from the unlikeliest source: her 15-year-old-son.

When author Daman Singh was pondering over the subject of her second novel,she found inspiration from the unlikeliest source: her 15-year-old-son. The anxieties of being a parent to a teenager were haunting me when I was looking for a suitable theme to write on. From simple everyday things like how will he get enough nourishment without eating vegetables to will TV viewing damage his brain or how he will cope with competition filled my mind, rued Singh,while speaking on her new novel,The Sacred Grove (Harper Collins,Rs 250) at its launch at the India Habitat Centre on Wednesday. Her mother,Gursharan Kaur,seated in the front row,smiled indulgently as Daman talked about her parental cares.

One of the three daughters of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,Daman,45,has captured the anxieties of a 13-year-old boy growing up in a small town in central India and his attempts to adhere to his fathers principles,cope with his pregnant mothers mood swings and come to terms with social norms.

Her first novel,Nine By Nine,which released in 2008,captured the emotional bonding of three college friends as they struggled through friendship,loss and society. It was melancholic,so I made every effort to make the second one slightly more humourous,whimsical and a lighter read. Even my family gynaecologist recommended I do so, she chuckled. Daman takes us through the world of 13-year Ashwin,whose passion for cricket gets a new lease of life once his driver Rafiq begins coaching him. His fascination for gadgets and his harmless crush on a history teacher are all vividly captured. I would secretly observe the mannerisms of my son how he reacted to daily situations,how his behaviour changed once his friends came over and how he liked to retire to his room occasionally, explains Singh,saying she eventually stopped following him around when she realised she was making him uncomfortable. I stopped observing him after a point of time and decided to figure out things for myself.

Since the novel is written in first person,in the words of a teenager,the challenge,says Daman,was to control her thoughts and prevent an overwhelming vocabulary. I had to get into the shoes of a teenager. My son would get annoyed over my childish behaviour and would snap back with grow up mom, she adds.

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