In March 2020, the world was told to shut themselves in. The much-condemned mobile phone became the center of our lives. Children who till February 2020 were told by WHO that screen time was evil and they should play vigorously outdoors at least 60 minutes every day, were forced to stare at screens for study, and stopped from playing outside. In short, everything turned upside down, or rather, to make a bad pun, outside in. They do say, though, that every cloud has a silver lining. Well, this little book is part of the silver lining. I have carefully mentioned the cover pages, because the front cover sets the tone, while the inside front cover and the back cover also have little gems tucked into them.
What does the front cover say, which forces you to pick the book up? ‘Aam ka patta, aam se jharta hai; jaam ka patta, jam se jharta hai’, so naturally you too would ask: ‘Bhai Tu Aisi Kavita Kyon Karta Hai?’. And immediately reach out and tell yourself this one simply has to be read! Before we delve into the book, though, I must add that the illustrations are absolutely essential to the charm of the book. The cover illustration is so comprehensively apt a summary for the year 2020, that it’s almost not funny. A befuddled cat, hanging upside down, clutching precariously at a branch of said mango tree. What did I tell you? No exaggerations here!