A lockdown tail

Birthday special chicken for Shinzo. Pics Courtesy/The Author

On March 23, 2020, the Andheri-based Daini family's resident good boy, Shinzo, hurt his leg while playing. The next day, the seven-year-old labrador was scooted off to the veterinarian by his parents, Sanyogita and Samir. Shinzo had fractured his bone, but on the bright side, the vet had asked them to come back the next day for another visit, so it meant a fun car ride.

But that fun car ride for Shinzo never came - for a long time at least - because the world had shuttered. What did Shinzo make of the lockdown? He noticed the doorbell stopped ringing. What did he think of the novel Coronavirus? He imagined it to be a girl who humans are afraid of. And was masking up a fashion trend? These are some of the many thoughts that make up Shinzo's Diary (English) or Shinzochi Diary (Marathi), an illustrated journal penned by the pet's mother, Sanyogita.

The journal-style book dwells on Shinzo's daily life in the lockdown

The clinical psychologist, short filmmaker and photographer shares that she started thinking about the book in the early months of the first lockdown. One day, Shinzo's human family members - Sanyogita, Samir and daughters, Saoni and Saloni - started joking about how he must think that everyone is home to take care of his injured leg. "I started wondering about his perception of the lockdown. So, I began maintaining a journal, imagining what he must be thinking about each day. Then, we forgot about it," she tells us. A couple of months ago, her daughter Saoni encouraged her to release the diary as a book.

"Saoni and her friend Kshitija Gurav worked on the design; Aditya and Ishaan Lagoo, my young nephews, did the illustrations; and my friend Swati Divekar translated the book from Marathi to English," she explains, adding that they are forwarding the proceeds from the sales to non-profits like Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD).

The ruled, diary-style title - dedicated to several other pooches the Dainis love - is a delightful peek into the curious mind of Shinzo. Like each of us, Shinzo had his unique experience of the lockdown. The long walks he looked forward to became shorter. His visitors - the gardener, house help and watchman stopped visiting, prompting him to wonder if he'll forget barking. He was thrilled that his family was home all the time, but began missing his "me-time" when he indulged in mischief. He also picked up a volley of "bad words" after chilling with his sisters 24x7.

Sanyogita Daini and Shinzo

Peppered with cute doodles and loving monochrome snaps of Shinzo and his favourite humans, the diary also has space for the readers to pen their and their pet's experience of the lockdown. "Shinzo was a blessing for us in the lockdown. He's the centre of our little universe, keeping us amused with his playful mischiefs. We wanted to share that with the world," Sanyogita signs off.

Log on to: @sazo.in on Instagram to order
Cost: Rs 299