Aai and I

Aadya looks just like her mother (Aai)—same little nose, same delicate ears, same big eyes and identical thick, long hair. But one day, Aai goes away to a big hospital with a promise to return before Aadya learns her next Math lesson. The long-awaited return shocks Aadya because now her mother looks completely unlike her. She wonders if Aai will ever greet her with her usual, cheery, ‘Hello! Mini-me.’ Or will Aadya have to take matters into her own hands just to hear that again? With lyrical prose and a tender touch, Aai and I is an empowering story of the bond between a mother and a daughter, and of the little one finding her own identity as she finds herself no longer ‘looking’ the same as her mother. Mamta Nainy captures with elan Aadya’s innocence, impatience and dilemma, and Sanket Pethkar’s vibrant, gorgeous artwork brings to life the nuanced see-saw of the child’s emotions in this Maharashtrian household.The various themes and sub-themes that the title touches upon: Self-identity, self-love, body image, hair-love, the ideas of beauty, appearance, separation anxiety, facing fears, mother and daughters, diseases and illnesses, cancer survivor, multigenerational bonds, empathy.