That grand connection

It Started with a Yawn, a book by Cheryl Rao, reflects the cherished bond of grandparents and kids, carefree childhoods, and the little joys

- SONU M KOTHARI

S kids, most activities we indulged in were incomplete. We fell asleep even before the bedtime story narrated by our grandparents ended. We got bored of the drawing and colored only the horn and half the body of a unicorn. We jumped off our seats to play with our neighbor without completing the meals. As kids, most of our beginnings had no ends. But we learnt a habit, a skill and sometimes, even built a bond in each of those unfinished moments.

Growing up, we understood that stories could be imagined and reimagined beyond their final words, and that art did not always have to be perfect and meaningful to be expressive. The bonds we made, included moments that seemed ordinary then, but feel sacred now — like grandparents guiding us through childhood and, in turn, grandchildren teaching them the art of seeing the world anew.

Cheryl Rao's latest book, It Started With A Yawn (Daffodil Lane Books) highlights this bond of a grandparent and a grandchild. Cheryl penned this picture book underlining the nuances of this relationship — the care, the worry and the solace in their presence.

Excerpts from a conversation:

• While the story is inspired from your father's sneezes, is there a personal connection, maybe you bond with your grandfather, to the story?