Motherhood is beautiful, but it is also insane. In Moms in the Wild, author Nidhi Raichand takes us through the cut-throat world of the mommy universe, which survives by its own rules. The book takes you on a turbulent ride through the competitive world of social media, modern-day journalism, and the wild ride that is motherhood.

moms in the wild

Read an excerpt from Moms in the Wild here:

It’s a funny thing—the death of someone you’ve never met but feel like you know intimately. A part of you is in mourning, and another part is puzzled and mildly judgemental of this unnecessary sentimentality you’re feeling.

But you see, my acquaintance with Natasha Babani wasn’t merely one-sided online stalking. In the days between our first correspondence and planned interview, Natasha and I had had several interactions. To my first email, she responded with enthusiasm; she was so thrilled about the pro-le. She couldn’t wait to meet me and show me around the lake and tell me the story of the difference it had made to her and all her neighbours. She was terribly sorry she was in Thailand for the weekend but would be back soon. She was available on email and WhatsApp until then, happy to share any information that I might like about the Clean Ahilya drive. Could I please text her on WhatsApp so that she could save my number as well?

‘Hi, this is Sneha Talwar from Cactus,’ I texted her on WhatsApp, and received a reply a few seconds later.

‘Hey!!! So good to connect with you! Back in a couple of days. Catch you then.’

Her display picture suggested that she was away on some sort of girls’ trip. I responded saying I was looking forward to meeting her and wishing her fun in Thailand, figuring that was the end of our exchange.

But my phone beeped again—Natasha was still not done with this conversation, and she told me it was a friend’s bachelorette trip. She was so happy that ‘Putts’ had found love again, and that she, Natasha, was her informal maid of honour.

Emboldened by her volunteering of this bit of personal information, I wondered if I ought to add her as a Facebook friend. But too soon, I decided. Perhaps I could do it after I finished the interview, which we scheduled for the coming Thursday afternoon.

As I waited patiently for Natasha to land back in India, I started my research on the lake, which was one of
Bangalore’s most famous lakes, located near the city centre. For decades, it had been just another natural landmark in the city surrounded by a frequently used jogging track and a children’s park that was maintained around once in ten years. Some of the land around it seemed to be disputed, and there wasn’t too much construction, barring a couple of office buildings and the posh 100-apartment Whispering Willows residential complex.

The residents of Whispering Willows had their own walking tracks (rubber and paved), a gym and three children’s parks that were maintained on a daily basis. The only purpose Lake Ahilya served was as a reason to charge higher rents for the lake-facing apartments. And it wasn’t until a little over a year ago, when the residents of these lake-facing apartments woke up one morning to the soothing smell of their filter coffee mixed with a horrifying stench from the lake, that folks began to notice that the lake was dying.

Without warning, thousands of dead fish had washed up on the banks of the Ahilya, and the residents of Whispering Willows were stupefied. How could this happen in one of the most high-end neighbourhoods in the city? That too just months after they had made garbage segregation compulsory in every home. What was in the lake water and was it also in their drinking water? Were their kids and families safe? And what was going to happen to the property prices in Whispering Willows?

The selected portion has been excerpted with permission from Moms in the Wild by Nidhi Raichand, HarperCollins India, ₹350. You can get your copy of the book here.

nidhi raichand

Nidhi Raichand started her career in advertising, then moved to journalism, and finally became a lanyard-wearing member of the IT industry. She usually writes about technology and banking solutions, but her dream has always been to write a book about motherhood, social media, and the joys of living and working in the city she calls home – Bangalore.

Related: The Naani Diaries By Riva Razdan: A Big-Hearted Novel About Love And Family

 

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