Reshma Elizabeth Thomas’ book looks at how the ordinary things around become extraordinary

What if the lifeless things you see every day start talking to you? Like an alarm clock, mirror, pillow, chair, refrigerator, television, shoes, car, key, mobile phone, pen and many more? It would definitely be interesting to know their thoughts and impressions about you. Reshma Elizabeth Thomas, artist, writer, and gender policy advisor, and founder-cum-CEO of Equigit Solutions Pvt Ltd, takes you on this journey through objects in the bedroom, kitchen, living room, the world outside and the world within, in her book, Whispers of Everyday Things: Monologues from the Mundane.Her thoughts flow, in five parts, as 21 short prose poems on these objects. Each has a monologue by the object, a reflection by the author/individual and the object recalling instances or incidents about their connection. There is a pause after each poem, where the poet poses a question which is more like an introspection. “Initially I wrote it as narrative, but later felt that the prose poem style resonated better with me as a writer, and it was easy for me to convey the thoughts to the reader.” Also, the book is not linear and so there is no right way to read it. Every object has a different prospective.Whispers of Everyday Life: Monologues from the Mundane by Reshma Elizabeth Thomas | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT “The idea dates back to my childhood. Whenever I rummaged through the refrigerator after coming home from school, my mother would say – if the fridge had a mouth, it would have shouted. Years later, I began thinking about the objects around us,” Reshma says.She continues: “When you have had sleepless nights, your pillow would have known about it; your chair would know the weight of the feeling you are carrying; the mirror would have seen many versions of you. I wondered what if these objects could speak to us. That was the starting point of this book.”She explains that the objects are narrators and through them she wanted to talk about “people, habits, relationships, loneliness, memories, and emotions that make up life.” Illustration by eight-year-old Nakshatra Vivek for the book Whispers of Everyday Life: Monologues from the Mundane written by Reshma Elizabeth Thomas | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT She takes you first to the bedroom, where ‘the world arrives, quietly and sometimes without permission’, where you listen to the alarm clock, bed, pillow, mirror and window. While the clock is the relentless awakener, the bed is the silent witness and refuge to the best and worst moments of its user. The pillow, ‘the keeper of secrets’, does not ask for thanks and is always there to catch your tears. The mirror makes a poignant observation: ‘I am not here to judge what you see/I am only here to show you that you keep looking.’The characters in the kitchen are the coffee mug, chai pan and refrigerator. “The chai pan is special because I am a chai person and I also have a core memory related to it. One about my mother, whom I lost to cancer. I still have that photo of her making tea in the morning when the sun’s rays coming in through the window falls on her and the pan. As she was preparing tea, I was looking at her and wondering how to tell her that she has cancer. I am thinking whether it is the last tea that she was making for me! I still have that pan and I am very possessive about it,” Reshma says. Illustration by eight-year-old Nakshatra Vivek for the book Whispers of Everyday Life: Monologues from the Mundane written by Reshma Elizabeth Thomas | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Under the living room section, she has included the television, which says, ‘I have been your storyteller, your escape, your noise’..., to which the author replies, ‘I put you on without thinking most evenings/It is a habit more than a choice’). The chair, which is among Reshma’s favourites, is the sturdy supporter (‘I simply adjust to what you bring’).The fourth part – The outside world – has featured the shoes (‘I only think about my shoes when something is wrong’), the car, the mobile phone (‘You reach for me before you are fully awake’), and the key. The fifth and final part is The inside world, which talks about the notebook, the pen, the spectacles, and Reshma’s childhood toy, a rocking swan, which is special for her. “I loved sitting on it and rocking back and forth. When I was happy, I sat on it and sang. It was my safe space when I was angry also. I sometimes had my food sitting on it. All these are narratives from my family. Basically, I used to vent my emotions about how my day went on that swan. That is why I included that in the list.”The highlight of the book is illustrations by eight-year-old Nakshatra Vivek, daughter of Reshma’s friend. “I deliberately went for a child illustrator because children have unfiltered view of seeing things. We adults tend to correct, beautify or intellectualise things. When I asked her to draw an alarm clock, she came up with one shaped like a lady bird and a robotic clock. It was also about having a playful approach, something imperfect. I didn’t want sophisticated illustration. There is something raw about a child’s point of view and the illustrations eventually become a conversation between an adult reader and a child’s visual world.” Reshma Elizabeth Thomas with Nakshatra Vivek | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Reshma has deliberately left a few pages blank towards the end of the book, which is more like an invitation for readers to pen their thoughts. “You can write the object you connected with more once you close the book,” she says, adding, “most ordinary things carry extraordinary part of our lives.”The book, published by Fabian Books, is priced ₹499.