Kalki Koechlin turns author with book on motherhood

Actor Kalki Koechlin is making her debut as an author with an illustrated non-fiction book on motherhood, publisher Penguin Random House India (PRHI) announced on Saturday.

Titled Elephant In The Womb, the book has been illustrated by Valeriya Polyanychko and will be published under 'Penguin's' imprint this year.

A combination of personal essays and think-pieces, the graphic book is a "candid, funny and relatable" account talking about pregnancy and parenting for mothers, expectant mothers, and "anyone even thinking about motherhood".

"While I was struggling with my pregnancy and my new role as a mother, it was my friends who helped me.

"They shared their rough times and dark phases and how they got through it with laughter and contemplation, and that helped me more than those who spoke only of the glorious, blessed babe in arms that brought light into their lives," said the 37-year-old actor, who gave birth to a baby girl in February last year.

According to the publisher, Koechlin's nuanced prose makes the readers aware about the physiological discomfort and manic expectations that make motherhood a bittersweet experience.

"Kalki Koechlin's book deals with the mother of all issues – the fact that parenting is as exhausting as it is fulfilling, as draining as it is inspiring, and as frustrating as it is joyous.

"We romanticize motherhood in popular culture, and I'm so glad Kalki has pulled back the curtain on what is essentially the physical and emotional labour of much of the female population," said Manasi Subramaniam, executive editor at PRHI