Book excerpt: As much with life, parenting in the new millennium does not come with an instruction manual. If you happen to be a girl about town, a super successful career woman, a must-live-each-day-as-it-comes kind of person, impending motherhood can be as imposing as a trip to outer space without an oxygen mask. Welcome to the opposite of everything you know. Shunali Khullar Shroff in Battle Hymn of a Bewildered Mother begins her journey as someone chronically devoid of what is naturally termed as the maternal instinct. But in spite of her misgivings, she eventually realizes there is nothing else she’d rather be doing than burping her babies while avoiding all traces of tranquilizers. This brilliant, whimsical, bumpy tale of everyday madness has a voice of a mother both honest and hilarious. From exchanging her corporate suits for mess-retardant mommy wear, from balancing work clients to battling two girls’ questions and demands, this book is a journey of a mother constantly walking on thin ice over the Bermuda Triangle. Based on the principles of lunacy and humour, Shunali Khullar Shroff reveals the realities of a parent in today’s ultramodern, supersonic, and chaotic world.