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Daddykins: A Memoir of My Father and I
When journalist Kalpana Mohan's elderly father falls ill in Chennai, she is on the next flight over from California and the home she has shared with her husband for three decades. Caring for her sometimes cranky, sometimes playful, and always adored father at his home in Chennai, Mohan sets out to piece together an account of her father's life, from his poverty-stricken childhood in a village in south India, to his arranged marriage, to his first job in the city, all the while coming to terms with his inevitable passing.
Mohan's tender, moving, and sometimes hilarious memoir is an account of a changing India captured in her father's life, from the sheer feat of surviving poverty in I920s India of his birth, to witnessing key moments in the nation's history and changing alongside them. Above all, Daddykins is an intimate and deeply relatable account of our relationships with our parents whatever our age, and the shared experiences of love and grief that unite us all.
Mohan's tender, moving, and sometimes hilarious memoir is an account of a changing India captured in her father's life, from the sheer feat of surviving poverty in I920s India of his birth, to witnessing key moments in the nation's history and changing alongside them. Above all, Daddykins is an intimate and deeply relatable account of our relationships with our parents whatever our age, and the shared experiences of love and grief that unite us all.
- GenresNonfictionMemoir
224 pages, Paperback
Published February 5, 2019
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October 20, 2018
TITLE: Daddykins: A Memoir of My Father and I
AUTHOR: Kalpana Mohan
PAGES: 224
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury India
ISBN: 978-9385936517
GENRE: Non Fiction
THE BLURB:
When journalist Kalpana Mohan's elderly father falls ill in Chennai, she is on the next flight over from California and the home she has shared with her husband for three decades. Caring for her sometimes cranky, sometimes playful, and always adored father at his home in Chennai, Mohan sets out to piece together an account of her father's life, from his poverty-stricken childhood in a village in south India, to his arranged marriage, to his first job in the city, all the while coming to terms with his inevitable passing.
Mohan's tender, moving, and sometimes hilarious memoir is an account of a changing India captured in her father's life, from the sheer feat of surviving poverty in I920s India of his birth, to witnessing key moments in the nation's history and changing alongside them. Above all, Daddykins is an intimate and deeply relatable account of our relationships with our parents whatever our age, and the shared experiences of love and grief that unite us all.
IF I COULD REVIEW IT IN A SINGLE LINE:
Not enough words to thank her for this wonderful book
THE REVIEW:
Every story that a daughter writes in appreciation of her father is bound to bring tears to you irrespective of how grave you are. Daddykins, she loved the man and the book.
Having both my parents still beside me as my pillars, I can never even begin to imagine what the loss of one's parent would make us feel and how deep a wound it's leave. The book is a personal memoir with writing that comes to life as we read it.
Daddykins made me laugh, awe, skip a beat and cry alike. Bloomsbury has always found beautiful write-ups and this is again a fine print by them.
To cherish and hold, to hold and to behold, this book talks, teaches and reminiscences the beautiful bond between a progenitor and his offspring that we could never hide, or skip away from last. It teaches and talks of valuable life lessons learnt from Indian culture of ages.
This book with it's simple writing that has such a strong undertone of warmth and heartfelt greetings, takes away a little piece of you with it as you close it. With stark comparisons, pitiful and yet endearing anecdotes and above all poignant picturesque landscapes of the beautiful 60's South, Daddykins made me fall in love with Kalpana's writing.
The two sisters, jiggling and juggling everyday life with stepping for to their father's side at the blink of an eye, took my heart with them.
The book has me so much in love with it that I cannot describe it's perfection in such a short review. I rarely give a perfect score to any but Daddykins took it from me. I have always been a sassy vixen when it comes to Indian writing but I can't thank Kalpana Mohan enough for this.
Cover: 5/5
Title: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Language: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Writing and Presentation: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Disclaimer: I was sent this book by publisher for an honest review. The review is absolutely my own and hasn’t been influenced by anyone.
AUTHOR: Kalpana Mohan
PAGES: 224
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury India
ISBN: 978-9385936517
GENRE: Non Fiction
THE BLURB:
When journalist Kalpana Mohan's elderly father falls ill in Chennai, she is on the next flight over from California and the home she has shared with her husband for three decades. Caring for her sometimes cranky, sometimes playful, and always adored father at his home in Chennai, Mohan sets out to piece together an account of her father's life, from his poverty-stricken childhood in a village in south India, to his arranged marriage, to his first job in the city, all the while coming to terms with his inevitable passing.
Mohan's tender, moving, and sometimes hilarious memoir is an account of a changing India captured in her father's life, from the sheer feat of surviving poverty in I920s India of his birth, to witnessing key moments in the nation's history and changing alongside them. Above all, Daddykins is an intimate and deeply relatable account of our relationships with our parents whatever our age, and the shared experiences of love and grief that unite us all.
IF I COULD REVIEW IT IN A SINGLE LINE:
Not enough words to thank her for this wonderful book
THE REVIEW:
Every story that a daughter writes in appreciation of her father is bound to bring tears to you irrespective of how grave you are. Daddykins, she loved the man and the book.
Having both my parents still beside me as my pillars, I can never even begin to imagine what the loss of one's parent would make us feel and how deep a wound it's leave. The book is a personal memoir with writing that comes to life as we read it.
Daddykins made me laugh, awe, skip a beat and cry alike. Bloomsbury has always found beautiful write-ups and this is again a fine print by them.
To cherish and hold, to hold and to behold, this book talks, teaches and reminiscences the beautiful bond between a progenitor and his offspring that we could never hide, or skip away from last. It teaches and talks of valuable life lessons learnt from Indian culture of ages.
This book with it's simple writing that has such a strong undertone of warmth and heartfelt greetings, takes away a little piece of you with it as you close it. With stark comparisons, pitiful and yet endearing anecdotes and above all poignant picturesque landscapes of the beautiful 60's South, Daddykins made me fall in love with Kalpana's writing.
The two sisters, jiggling and juggling everyday life with stepping for to their father's side at the blink of an eye, took my heart with them.
The book has me so much in love with it that I cannot describe it's perfection in such a short review. I rarely give a perfect score to any but Daddykins took it from me. I have always been a sassy vixen when it comes to Indian writing but I can't thank Kalpana Mohan enough for this.
Cover: 5/5
Title: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Language: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Writing and Presentation: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Disclaimer: I was sent this book by publisher for an honest review. The review is absolutely my own and hasn’t been influenced by anyone.
November 14, 2018
It is a one-of-a-kind, "nothing short of spectacular" memoir from one of the most gifted storytellers of the San Francisco Bay area.
Kalpana Mohan invites us to board her memory train, and travel back in time until we return to where we departed along with the author, through the long and winding railroads of her beloved past. Here we meet her charismatic father “Daddykins” whose childhood in the village was a life of penury. As a young married man, he speaks through the book as a simple hardworking hopeful, with dreams to provide his family a little more than the necessities of life. He then finds the courage to move from a village in Palakkad to Chennai, and then to Lahore, the broken up and troubled Pakistan in 1956 and finally to Dar-Es-Salaam to learn and experience the other side of the world – of the good, the bad and everything in between.
The book offers a revelatory look at vibrant characters like “Thalaivar” and “The man Friday” that shape the life of Daddykins and in turn theirs. The symbiotic relationship between Daddykins and his Chauffeur Vinayagam will bring laughter and tears to the readers as the author weaves her story from passage to passage.
Mohan brings many laughs in the book, especially during the train journey to Kerala in a third-class compartment. She manages to do this in a most conversational way through laugh-out-loud passages. The book is peppered with humor, love and funny snippets which cannot be simply quoted. “You have to read it yourself.”
There are also some somber moments when you wish you could reach through the pages and shake some sense into the closed-mindedness of the Hindu society – about casteism – a social evil that is alive and well – only changed its form and manifestation from time to time. It is admirable to see the author pushing the pen despite her discomfort to come to terms with her father’s dissension to hire a cook who is not a Brahmin.
In one way or another, the story itself chimes the bells of emotions and thoughts of many of us: the orange and the blue - happiness, and sadness - through our voyages of life.
The author’s honest-to-goodness memoir crisscrossed by childhood memories, tenderness, humor, history, culture, mores, and social issues makes this an irresistible read.
To the author: Masterful first book. Keep it up!
To the publisher: It is obvious that many parts of the book could have used more content that seemed edited. Suffocating the up and coming good writers in their nest and telling them which direction they should fly is counter-productive. If, a book has the potential to stir the readers; is capable of getting a wider audience and maintains integrity then let the writer's voice be heard.
Kalpana Mohan invites us to board her memory train, and travel back in time until we return to where we departed along with the author, through the long and winding railroads of her beloved past. Here we meet her charismatic father “Daddykins” whose childhood in the village was a life of penury. As a young married man, he speaks through the book as a simple hardworking hopeful, with dreams to provide his family a little more than the necessities of life. He then finds the courage to move from a village in Palakkad to Chennai, and then to Lahore, the broken up and troubled Pakistan in 1956 and finally to Dar-Es-Salaam to learn and experience the other side of the world – of the good, the bad and everything in between.
The book offers a revelatory look at vibrant characters like “Thalaivar” and “The man Friday” that shape the life of Daddykins and in turn theirs. The symbiotic relationship between Daddykins and his Chauffeur Vinayagam will bring laughter and tears to the readers as the author weaves her story from passage to passage.
Mohan brings many laughs in the book, especially during the train journey to Kerala in a third-class compartment. She manages to do this in a most conversational way through laugh-out-loud passages. The book is peppered with humor, love and funny snippets which cannot be simply quoted. “You have to read it yourself.”
There are also some somber moments when you wish you could reach through the pages and shake some sense into the closed-mindedness of the Hindu society – about casteism – a social evil that is alive and well – only changed its form and manifestation from time to time. It is admirable to see the author pushing the pen despite her discomfort to come to terms with her father’s dissension to hire a cook who is not a Brahmin.
In one way or another, the story itself chimes the bells of emotions and thoughts of many of us: the orange and the blue - happiness, and sadness - through our voyages of life.
The author’s honest-to-goodness memoir crisscrossed by childhood memories, tenderness, humor, history, culture, mores, and social issues makes this an irresistible read.
To the author: Masterful first book. Keep it up!
To the publisher: It is obvious that many parts of the book could have used more content that seemed edited. Suffocating the up and coming good writers in their nest and telling them which direction they should fly is counter-productive. If, a book has the potential to stir the readers; is capable of getting a wider audience and maintains integrity then let the writer's voice be heard.
June 7, 2021
Memoirs by Indian authors that deal with the everyday life of ordinary people are uncommon.
Kalpana Mohan's tribute to her father through this book is an exception and therefore important.
The book reveals her father and his life through a series of stories crisscrossing decades and countries. From details collected through phone and in-person conversation with her father in his last years plus her own coming of age vignettes, the author weaves together a story of many Indian homes during the important decades of India's history as it became a free country.
What sets this book apart is the subtle undercurrent of humour in the interactions between her father, his caretaker/chauffeur Vinayagam and the daily business of living. The epigraphs include short dialogs and quips that made me laugh out loud.
Yet there is history and personal tragedy, success and loss, as in every life. There is movement across countries, from India to Pakistan, then Tanzania and also a long stint in the US when the author who lives in California hosts her parents for almost a year.
Home, after all is where you can be yourself and when you have loving parents who let you flourish in your own way, their loss can feel irreparable. I could empathise with the author having lost my own loving parents not so long ago.
A pleasant, humorous and interesting read about family, society and how the two intersect and shape us.
Kalpana Mohan's tribute to her father through this book is an exception and therefore important.
The book reveals her father and his life through a series of stories crisscrossing decades and countries. From details collected through phone and in-person conversation with her father in his last years plus her own coming of age vignettes, the author weaves together a story of many Indian homes during the important decades of India's history as it became a free country.
What sets this book apart is the subtle undercurrent of humour in the interactions between her father, his caretaker/chauffeur Vinayagam and the daily business of living. The epigraphs include short dialogs and quips that made me laugh out loud.
Yet there is history and personal tragedy, success and loss, as in every life. There is movement across countries, from India to Pakistan, then Tanzania and also a long stint in the US when the author who lives in California hosts her parents for almost a year.
Home, after all is where you can be yourself and when you have loving parents who let you flourish in your own way, their loss can feel irreparable. I could empathise with the author having lost my own loving parents not so long ago.
A pleasant, humorous and interesting read about family, society and how the two intersect and shape us.
November 25, 2018
Usually, a section of avid book readers would agree with me, that memoirs become monotonous, or somewhat unrelatable considering the fact that much of the content written about a person or event can be impersonal to the individual reader. But Kalpana Mohan’s Daddykins is one of the most emotional, heart-warming and empathetic memoirs I have EVER read. The book does not only speak for itself with respect to the proclivity of the writer and the beautiful flashback-present meander that the pages follow in a way I have previously not seen but also that much of the writing about a grand man, no doubt with flaws and unpredictably tempestuous emotions at times, and an incredibly loving, funny, cultural, kind father at others, can be exceedingly interesting and emotional too. Kalpana Mohan has really done wonders to detail each and every inch of her father’s life, from beginning till the end where her beloved Daddykins has many a life’s lesson to teach, many a wonderful memory to share from a village in Kerala all the way to the large thouroughfares of Madras City. What I also found surprising, was how much of a rags-to-means, Cross-generational account of a typical Indian family of the 21st century has in common with my own, whether it’s the gradual cultural shift, or the stubbornness of tradition that failed to unhinge from Daddykins’ mind or actions, or the ever-changing political landscape in independent India that he always had a loud opinion about- everything was so typical yet so relatable to my own family- perhaps making the read so much more comfortable, helping me recall my own grandfather and reminiscing how similar he was in mannerisms to good old Daddykins in youth and in old age. Everything from how Daddykins and his father before, had struggled to make an honest living for their children to how the tables turned when Kalpana and her sister did everything to make sure their father was palliatively cared for during the last days of his late sparing no expense or time or love is captured hearteningly in the memoir. Especially, the essence of South Indian culture and how a man staunch in his traditional beliefs would never forget the broader perspective and power that made him the man that he was till the very end— was wonderfully portrayed. You will have to read the entire memoir to find out what Daddykins was really called, but the essence of the man, consisting of his entire family, his life and his loved ones have been exemplarily captured by his own daughter, whom I’m sure would be proud looking back today at not only how she ensconced his memory in this book but how he would be beaming right back at the millions who will be reading about him and open the doors to the lovely world of learning that was Daddykins— to them! Brilliant read!
July 19, 2022
This book made me think about what really matters in life. All of us worry about money, status, and career but in the end what really counts?
I enjoyed reading about the life of Daddykins who had set a high standard for himself and imparted good values in their children. This is a book about the life of Daddykins in his final years, the bond formed with his chauffeur, and the conversations with his daughters.
It really got me thinking about my fast-paced life and my priorities.
I enjoyed reading about the life of Daddykins who had set a high standard for himself and imparted good values in their children. This is a book about the life of Daddykins in his final years, the bond formed with his chauffeur, and the conversations with his daughters.
It really got me thinking about my fast-paced life and my priorities.
December 16, 2018
Title: Daddykins
Author: Kalpana Mohan
Published by: Bloomsbury India
Published on: 18th September 2018
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 9789386349538
BLURB
When journalist Kalpana Mohan's elderly father falls ill in Chennai, she is on the next flight over from California and the home she has shared with her husband for three decades. Caring for her sometimes cranky, sometimes playful, and always adored father at his home in Chennai, Mohan sets out to piece together an account of her father's life, from his poverty-stricken childhood in a village in south India, to his arranged marriage, to his first job in the city, all the while coming to terms with his inevitable passing.
Mohan's tender, moving, and sometimes hilarious memoir is an account of a changing India captured in her father's life, from the sheer feat of surviving poverty in I920s India of his birth, to witnessing key moments in the nation's history and changing alongside them. Above all, Daddykins is an intimate and deeply relatable account of our relationships with our parents whatever our age, and the shared experiences of love and grief that unite us all.
COVER PAGE
The cover page of the memoir is very simple and is in white colour with the title in bold letters. It has an old picture of author Kalpana Mohan and his father, Daddykins. The picture is black and white and it makes the cover page look very elegant. I loved the cover page a lot.
REVIEW
I rarely read memoirs, autobiographies but since last few months I don't know why I am reading such books. It feels great when some of these books I read relate with my life. Daddykins by Kalpana Mohan is one such amazing book which made relates a lot. It is a very interesting and an heartwarming memoir.
The memoir revolves around the author, Kalpana Mohan and her father. The book took me on a ride of emotions, I laughed, cried, felt contended and what not. It is a very peaceful and a very heartwarming read. The book has some kind of magic that I was not able to put it down. It is humorous at times and very emotional at some points.
There are quite a number of characters in the book. And, a lot of relations emerge in the book but, the relation that author's father share with Vinayagam is amazing and I enjoyed reading those moments in the book a lot. The author and her father's relation also shines out in the memoir. The book not only covers the relation of the author with her father but also a lot of events and instances of her father. There are a lot of events which are shared in the book such as her father's childhood, post partition events, marriage, and various others.
The book is penned down in a very beautifully and is very well written. The language is lucid, subtle and is flowing like a river. Her writing style made me dive into the book. I read a lot of portions of the book not just once rather twice, so I took quite a few days to finish reading it. A very nice and subtle narration made my reading experience wonderful. The author has very nicely captured and written about her father expressing about all his habits, ways, interests, traditions and ideas about politics. I really loved the small instances which the author has written in italics in the beginning of each chapter.
Overall, it is a very heart touching, overwhelming and a refreshing read. It can be easily finished in one sitting.I am glad that I got the chance to read this wonderful memoir. I would highly recommend this book to those who want to read a warm book.
* I received a copy of the book from the publisher (Bloomsbury India) in exchange of a review. Thank You.
Author: Kalpana Mohan
Published by: Bloomsbury India
Published on: 18th September 2018
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 9789386349538
BLURB
When journalist Kalpana Mohan's elderly father falls ill in Chennai, she is on the next flight over from California and the home she has shared with her husband for three decades. Caring for her sometimes cranky, sometimes playful, and always adored father at his home in Chennai, Mohan sets out to piece together an account of her father's life, from his poverty-stricken childhood in a village in south India, to his arranged marriage, to his first job in the city, all the while coming to terms with his inevitable passing.
Mohan's tender, moving, and sometimes hilarious memoir is an account of a changing India captured in her father's life, from the sheer feat of surviving poverty in I920s India of his birth, to witnessing key moments in the nation's history and changing alongside them. Above all, Daddykins is an intimate and deeply relatable account of our relationships with our parents whatever our age, and the shared experiences of love and grief that unite us all.
COVER PAGE
The cover page of the memoir is very simple and is in white colour with the title in bold letters. It has an old picture of author Kalpana Mohan and his father, Daddykins. The picture is black and white and it makes the cover page look very elegant. I loved the cover page a lot.
REVIEW
I rarely read memoirs, autobiographies but since last few months I don't know why I am reading such books. It feels great when some of these books I read relate with my life. Daddykins by Kalpana Mohan is one such amazing book which made relates a lot. It is a very interesting and an heartwarming memoir.
The memoir revolves around the author, Kalpana Mohan and her father. The book took me on a ride of emotions, I laughed, cried, felt contended and what not. It is a very peaceful and a very heartwarming read. The book has some kind of magic that I was not able to put it down. It is humorous at times and very emotional at some points.
There are quite a number of characters in the book. And, a lot of relations emerge in the book but, the relation that author's father share with Vinayagam is amazing and I enjoyed reading those moments in the book a lot. The author and her father's relation also shines out in the memoir. The book not only covers the relation of the author with her father but also a lot of events and instances of her father. There are a lot of events which are shared in the book such as her father's childhood, post partition events, marriage, and various others.
The book is penned down in a very beautifully and is very well written. The language is lucid, subtle and is flowing like a river. Her writing style made me dive into the book. I read a lot of portions of the book not just once rather twice, so I took quite a few days to finish reading it. A very nice and subtle narration made my reading experience wonderful. The author has very nicely captured and written about her father expressing about all his habits, ways, interests, traditions and ideas about politics. I really loved the small instances which the author has written in italics in the beginning of each chapter.
Overall, it is a very heart touching, overwhelming and a refreshing read. It can be easily finished in one sitting.I am glad that I got the chance to read this wonderful memoir. I would highly recommend this book to those who want to read a warm book.
* I received a copy of the book from the publisher (Bloomsbury India) in exchange of a review. Thank You.
August 9, 2019
As a young person, I was transported by the idea of being a foreign exchange student or even having a pen pal who lived far, far away. That was never in the cards for me, but reading Daddykins reminded me of those youthful imaginings. Kalpana Mohan’s memoir offers inclusion in the lives of others and in the culture and climes of her distant homeland, India.
From page one, we’re made aware that the book will end with 91 year-old Daddykins passing away. Fair warning. But this is not a story about dying; it’s about living. For a man with serious health conditions: strokes, an esophageal disorder, a pancreatic mass, and concerning bouts of depression, Daddykins has vigor to spare. The memoir enfolds us into the daily routines, rituals, idiosyncrasies, and humors of Daddykins—a fine man with exacting sensibilities, his nettlesome and ever-protective attendant—Vinayagam, and Daddykins’ devoted yet independent minded daughter—the narrator. We are invited to laugh and sigh with each of them. At one point, when Daddykins is asked what time he sees on the clock, from his sickbed, he tells his daughter that it’s five minutes past 3:00, but then he adjusts his answer, “Or 6 minutes after 3 PM, depending on any error of parallax." Now that is a lively response, and so it goes, heaping doses of levity during a year of reflections, regrets, amends, and touching reminiscences.
With the use of lyrical language, keen observance of detail, and a story structure that weaves past to present, this memoir invites the reader to take a seat on Daddykins’ rust-orange sofa and enjoy the company.
From page one, we’re made aware that the book will end with 91 year-old Daddykins passing away. Fair warning. But this is not a story about dying; it’s about living. For a man with serious health conditions: strokes, an esophageal disorder, a pancreatic mass, and concerning bouts of depression, Daddykins has vigor to spare. The memoir enfolds us into the daily routines, rituals, idiosyncrasies, and humors of Daddykins—a fine man with exacting sensibilities, his nettlesome and ever-protective attendant—Vinayagam, and Daddykins’ devoted yet independent minded daughter—the narrator. We are invited to laugh and sigh with each of them. At one point, when Daddykins is asked what time he sees on the clock, from his sickbed, he tells his daughter that it’s five minutes past 3:00, but then he adjusts his answer, “Or 6 minutes after 3 PM, depending on any error of parallax." Now that is a lively response, and so it goes, heaping doses of levity during a year of reflections, regrets, amends, and touching reminiscences.
With the use of lyrical language, keen observance of detail, and a story structure that weaves past to present, this memoir invites the reader to take a seat on Daddykins’ rust-orange sofa and enjoy the company.
December 28, 2018
Daddykins
Kalpana Mohan
Bloomsbury India
2018. Pp – 224.
Kalpana Mohan, in her Memoir, brings a sweet and emotional recollection of her life, her journey and her relationship with her father.
And if I had to say one word about this book, it’d be “heartwarming” and nothing else.
#bookstagramindia #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #review #bookreview #readdreamrepeat #blogger #bookblogger #delhibookstagrammer #indianblogger #igreads #delhiblogger #unitedbookstagram #delhibookstagramfam #bookishfeatures #bookporn #booknerd #bookstagramfeature #newyear #newyearreads
60 down @htbrunch #htbrunchbookchallenge #BrunchBookChallenge #htbrunch
Kalpana Mohan
Bloomsbury India
2018. Pp – 224.
Kalpana Mohan, in her Memoir, brings a sweet and emotional recollection of her life, her journey and her relationship with her father.
And if I had to say one word about this book, it’d be “heartwarming” and nothing else.
#bookstagramindia #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #review #bookreview #readdreamrepeat #blogger #bookblogger #delhibookstagrammer #indianblogger #igreads #delhiblogger #unitedbookstagram #delhibookstagramfam #bookishfeatures #bookporn #booknerd #bookstagramfeature #newyear #newyearreads
60 down @htbrunch #htbrunchbookchallenge #BrunchBookChallenge #htbrunch
May 9, 2020
Mohan treats the difficulties of human functioning in old age with grace, dignity, and a lot of kind humor. The short anecdotes beginning each chapter are truly affectionate and restorative to my spirit. In each chapter, we glance backward to a past scene of her father's becoming an accountant in the India civil service and family man with two daughters, and we end with a present scene of his declining years in which he forges a steadfast and honest relationship with his man Friday, Vinayagan. Mohan shares not only a personal family life but also gives us an intimate look into the changing society and people of South India, a place I have been privileged to live a few years of my own life.
April 11, 2021
It was a decent read. Perhaps if the theme interested me more I may have liked it better. The writer inflexs humour in tough, sad situations & that carries the story forward. Some stereotypes hold true, I wish it didn’t.
July 29, 2022
A sweet savory treat of a book. At time humorous and at times sad, like like itself, this is an affectionate and touching portrait of her father. The author uses exquisite details to bring her father and his world to life.
December 2, 2018
Memoirs are always a step away from being too depressing or too “good to be true” but Kalpana Mohan’s Daddykins is one of the wittiest and heartwarming memoirs I’ve ever read.
She takes a trip down the memory lane, piecing together her father’s youth years in a small village in Kerela, his marriage, his job in Madras city; all against the backdrop of a newly independent India.
Daddykins has a lot of wonderful memories to share with us and each leaving us with life lessons and a big smile on our faces.
She does not shy away from talking about her father’s struggles, his flaws or his emotional side, his changing political views or a little rigid traditional side. Kalpana Mohan has beautifully captured everything about his father, from beginning till the end, in this touching memoir and being a daughter myself, it means so much to me!
Brilliant, humorous and so intimate, one of my favourite nonfiction reads this year!
I give it 4.5/5 and highly recommend it.
She takes a trip down the memory lane, piecing together her father’s youth years in a small village in Kerela, his marriage, his job in Madras city; all against the backdrop of a newly independent India.
Daddykins has a lot of wonderful memories to share with us and each leaving us with life lessons and a big smile on our faces.
She does not shy away from talking about her father’s struggles, his flaws or his emotional side, his changing political views or a little rigid traditional side. Kalpana Mohan has beautifully captured everything about his father, from beginning till the end, in this touching memoir and being a daughter myself, it means so much to me!
Brilliant, humorous and so intimate, one of my favourite nonfiction reads this year!
I give it 4.5/5 and highly recommend it.
January 9, 2021
Has its moments of wit, humor and beauty.
May 22, 2025
Quite liked this memoir of death once I finally settled into it. Daughters and fathers innit, and Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
April 24, 2020
While driving back in the car after the party, he turned to my sister to ask her the one question that seemed to giving him heartburn. “Was this a birthday or a sendoff?”
Returning back after celebrating his ninetieth birthday, the one thought that kept lingering in the mind of Daddykins, was that of mortality, and how much more time did he have? In this memoir that’s written with utmost affection, love and respect for a man the author grew up loving, her father, we see life through his eyes, and how with changing times, Daddykins, remained loyal to his routines, his family, and everything that was dear to him.
Kalpana Mohan, a journalist in California, flies down to take-care of her father whose health keeps deteriorating, She describes her father’s life, piecing together every little detail with precision, and caution coupled with laughter and wit. She traces her father’s life of when he was growing up in a country that went through partition, his marriage at an early age, and fighting poverty to landing his first job. Often dealing with the crankiness that the illness brought him to seeing him wither down and accept defeat when his body could no longer cope, Kalpana, captured the journey of a man who never lost sight of his bold nature, and smiled even at his lowest, never letting his physical inability hinder his sharp mind.
It was delightful and heartwarming to read about the relationship between a father and a daughter. The instances narrated made me tear up in parts, often making me think about my father’s idiosyncrasies, and how universal the bond is. No matter how old you are, you’ll always remain your daddy’s little girl.
The staff at the theatre walked up to Daddykins and asked after his health. He introduced me to them. “My little girl,” he said. Fifty-one years old, with hair dyed black to retain her youth and on supplements to stave off the onset of osteoporosis and peripheral neuropathy, his ‘little’ girl held Daddykins by the elbow and led him to their seats in the first row.
The camaraderie between Daddykins and Vinayagam, the witty remarks laced with admiration and respect for each other together with the author’s stark observation about the mundane, made the book even more special. Families come together during difficult times, and it is families who help us see the shore when the tides are high. Through this memoir, Kalpana, weaved a beautiful relationship between daughters, and their fathers, and how, when all is said and done, you need your parents to help you see the light.
I never imagined that my father would really die. Death had been a stunt practised in our home. My father had ‘pretend-died’ and come back to life many times before. Sometimes when my mother or his daughters castigated him for something, Daddykins’ face would fall. “I’ll just go away,” he would say, “and then you’ll see how life will be.” Then he would flump down on the sofa or bed. In a display of cinematic bravado, Daddykins would let his arms go limp. His head would roll to his side, his eyes would shut and the tongue would leak out of his mouth. But he always got up and walked back into our lives. That night in June, however, while my sister and I paced outside his room, anxious about the readings on his oxygen monitor, Daddykins exhaled, never to inhale again.
Returning back after celebrating his ninetieth birthday, the one thought that kept lingering in the mind of Daddykins, was that of mortality, and how much more time did he have? In this memoir that’s written with utmost affection, love and respect for a man the author grew up loving, her father, we see life through his eyes, and how with changing times, Daddykins, remained loyal to his routines, his family, and everything that was dear to him.
Kalpana Mohan, a journalist in California, flies down to take-care of her father whose health keeps deteriorating, She describes her father’s life, piecing together every little detail with precision, and caution coupled with laughter and wit. She traces her father’s life of when he was growing up in a country that went through partition, his marriage at an early age, and fighting poverty to landing his first job. Often dealing with the crankiness that the illness brought him to seeing him wither down and accept defeat when his body could no longer cope, Kalpana, captured the journey of a man who never lost sight of his bold nature, and smiled even at his lowest, never letting his physical inability hinder his sharp mind.
It was delightful and heartwarming to read about the relationship between a father and a daughter. The instances narrated made me tear up in parts, often making me think about my father’s idiosyncrasies, and how universal the bond is. No matter how old you are, you’ll always remain your daddy’s little girl.
The staff at the theatre walked up to Daddykins and asked after his health. He introduced me to them. “My little girl,” he said. Fifty-one years old, with hair dyed black to retain her youth and on supplements to stave off the onset of osteoporosis and peripheral neuropathy, his ‘little’ girl held Daddykins by the elbow and led him to their seats in the first row.
The camaraderie between Daddykins and Vinayagam, the witty remarks laced with admiration and respect for each other together with the author’s stark observation about the mundane, made the book even more special. Families come together during difficult times, and it is families who help us see the shore when the tides are high. Through this memoir, Kalpana, weaved a beautiful relationship between daughters, and their fathers, and how, when all is said and done, you need your parents to help you see the light.
I never imagined that my father would really die. Death had been a stunt practised in our home. My father had ‘pretend-died’ and come back to life many times before. Sometimes when my mother or his daughters castigated him for something, Daddykins’ face would fall. “I’ll just go away,” he would say, “and then you’ll see how life will be.” Then he would flump down on the sofa or bed. In a display of cinematic bravado, Daddykins would let his arms go limp. His head would roll to his side, his eyes would shut and the tongue would leak out of his mouth. But he always got up and walked back into our lives. That night in June, however, while my sister and I paced outside his room, anxious about the readings on his oxygen monitor, Daddykins exhaled, never to inhale again.
January 28, 2019
Daddykins is a heartwarming and nostalgic read. Completely relatable and resonates with one born in pre-globalization India and who has an ailing parent. The book reminded me of my dad's idiosyncracies and had me saying 'my dad did that too'. The last few pages were tough to read but totally echoed my thoughts.
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