Parenting is a roller coaster ride. There are good days and bad days and some are all-out crazy days. I never imagined that a pandemic would hit us and I would be seeing my kids 24/7, 365 days without a break. No school, no playdates, no outings, God help me!!
Being an artist and illustrator I decided to channel my parenting frustrations creatively. It led to the creation of the comic strip ‘Idli Vada’ based on my personal experiences of parenting two super active and curious boys. Why the name Idli Vada, well I’m a Punjabi born and brought up in Chennai and married and settled in Mumbai. Idli Vada is my favourite go-to comfort food. It is what I had when I was pregnant, what my boys love, and it is easy to illustrate.
There is no dearth of ideas for the comic cause the boys are always up to something and it’s better to laugh it off then pull my hair out.
My six-year-old, who is the Idli in the comic is completely tickled by the concept. The other day he was killing mosquitoes with the electric bat, he stops mid-way and says “Mom make an Idli Vada comic of this, my new indoor sport”. He is my biggest critic and likes to see what is the latest comic that mom has created. This series has also been a bond-building exercise between us.
Once someone casually commented that your mom is a painter. He immediately corrected the person by saying, “not a painter, my mom is an ARTIST and I’m her inspiration”. My heart swelled with pride because this was not what I expected a six-year-old to say.
There are a lot of mamas and papas out there trying to do their best and keep it all together, so when you need some sympathy or just a laugh read an Idli Vada comic because even though you love your children like crazy there are some days you wonder WHY!!
Mansi Zaveri
Rushita Sheth
