by Just a month away from Summer, Bhumika Kulkarni, an independent journalist, author and mum has written a book on how kids felt during the pandemic. Published by Maiya publishing, the book- Kuku’s Summer at Home is a reflection of the year 2020.
Kuku is a young girl who gets bombarded with the suddenness of the circumstances that took over in early 2020 where the virus ensured the world stayed indoors.
She cannot go to her grandmother’s home in Kerala and much more happens in the months ahead. The e-book is a simple story and one of those few books that actually speaks on what happened during the Covid year of 2020. Moreover how kids coped with the new circumstances the story brings an interesting point.
The author Bhumika Kulkarni shares with Mums and Stories, “The idea for the book “Kuku’s Summer At Home” started bubbling during the lockdown. It was quite a frustrating and anxious time for us adults and I felt children too were going through some upheavals of their own. Suddenly they were confined to their homes, told not to play with friends, had no school to go to…The world as they knew it, suddenly turned topsy-turvy.
I felt I needed to put down in writing all the happenings around me, and all the feelings inside us, as a sort of the record of the times. Yet, I didn’t want it to be all about the things that went wrong. I wanted it to be a story of positivity and hope.”
The story goes through the journey of how kids underwent the path of being secluded in their homes to adapting to the online world of entertainment, education and even catching up with relatives, friends and grandparents.
According to Bhumika, “Kids had an opportunity for deeper observation of, and connection with Nature in urban areas. It was something all over the news — of seeing peacocks and hearing birdsong in dense residential areas in the new unsettling quiet, and so on. Participating in household chores was such a multi-layered learning – kids picked up new skills, it was a time spent bonding with parents, and it also felt like fun…at least in the initial stages. The idea of the book was that, in the future, when we have all gotten over the Covid virus, this book is there as a reminder of all that we went through. We really need to look at the brighter side of things in our current situation.”
Talking about her own experience as a mother and how kids have managed to face the year, Bhumika says, ” Children seem to have coped better than adults! That’s my reading of the situation. Honestly, children over and over again prove to us that they can adapt fast to changing situations, learn new ways, and adjust to them better. Not too much fear. Not too much of dwelling on the past or the limitations of the present. Lots there, for us to learn FROM them!
As a mum, I diligently worried for my child, his studies, his health, fretted over his safety and his future. But as the year progressed, I slowly made my peace with the idea that this year was unconventional. I tried to re-prioritise my life and goals, pretty much like all other mothers.”
Kuku’s Summer at Home” is a simple story and representative what many children, specially in India, have been experiencing during this Covid19 pandemic. It hopes to help children deal with the range of feelings they may have been through, and give them an assurance that in the end, it will all be fine. The book was illustrated by Anika Ravanan, a 9th grade student and this is her first published work too.
Here’s the link to buy the e-book online. It costs Rs. 30 and lands in your email within minutes of buying.
Mums and Stories gives it a 4.5 on 5 for its true sense of documenting what happened in kid’s lives and bringing out the point that in the end, everything will be fine.
