Mother's Day Special

Here is my tribute to my own mom on mother's day. My way of expressing love, as writing is what i do best.

Remember when you are in a shopping mall, checking out some interesting cookies and chocolates, when you realise you have lost your mother. A moment of total panic, isn’t it? You start looking around for your mother all over the place. At that moment when you find her, you are finally at peace with yourself. No nirvana can beat that feeling.

Maa, Amma, Mom, Mum, Ami…. They go by so many names, just like God.  Being a mother is one of the hardest jobs and I bow down to every woman handling it with such ease. I for one can’t even take care of a really disciplined cat for five minutes. Mothers take care of their kids all their lives. When a baby gets cranky and loud, it is returned to its mother. We all see how cute and adorable the baby is, only the mother knows what a pain it can be. Yet she loves it more than any one of us.

The ‘Maa’ sentiment is well exploited in Bollywood as well. Any Indian will know this one:
Mere paas gaadi hai, bangla hai,  paisa hai…tere paas kya hai ?

Mere paas Maa hai.

Mothers surpass every other luxury. Everything else means nothing in front of a mother’s love and encouragement. She is the one who will ensure that you grow and make a living for yourself. She will drive you to get the gaadis and banglas to yourself. We are totally lost without her. She is the one who know exactly what you need.

For me, my mom is my best friend. Not because I tell her everything, but because she will make my favourite food to cheer me up even if I don’t. Once we had a monsoon trek in school and it was disastrous. I was depressed for reasons I have no intention to reveal to you all. I hadn’t told my mom what made me sad either. We were supposed to go for a movie that night but I was not up to it. She forced me to come for it, and I am happy that she did. I had the best laugh and felt cheerful after the movie. Whenever I am sick or scared, a hug from mom makes me feel safe. The day I feel off-colour, coincidentally there will be my favourite bhindi fry for lunch. Whenever she goes shopping and finds something of my liking, she buys it for me. She will be more excited about the stuff than me. She once got a chocolate shampoo for me.

When I was in St.Mary’s School, some of my teachers were unfair to me for no reason. She even complained to my mom that I am very inactive and dumb. The truth was that she never gave me a chance to answer any question, even if my hand went shooting up in the air like Hermoine. She even punished me for really minute reasons. My mom believed me and knew that her daughter couldn’t lie. She went to the head-mistress and reported the issue immediately.

When I was 11-12, I used to write many poems. I had written one about friendship, and it was a big hit among the people I showed it to. My mom urged me to send the poem to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. She googled his email address and made me send it. He replied to the mail in one line of appreciation. My mom went around flaunting it to everyone. Even now when I publish my blogs, she gets all her friends to read it.

In my early teens, I used to learn Bharatnatyam. We had an annual day program where all of us got 5-10 minutes of stage time to dance. My mother kept telling everyone that I will soon have my arangetrum. For those of you who don’t know, it is a milestone where you perform a series of dances (goes on for 3 hours or more). This is your first official performance, where you are acknowledged as an official dancer. Something like getting a graduation. I never really thought I could do it. To be mild, I wasn’t so good a dancer. I thought that my mom would be headed for a big disappointment. However, one year later, there I was giving my arangetrum. None of it would be possible without her. She pushed me to learn dance. She would be there to drop me and pick me up for practices at all odd hours and sometimes sit through the whole practice session. She would encourage me and my other co-dancers every time we were tired. She came with me to pick-up the saris and accessories, the photo-shoot and all the rehearsals. I owe it to her.

During my 11^th-12^th, when I was preparing for all those devilish entrance exams, my mom would ensure that I got all the books and material I wanted. Even now, she will ensure that I always have my pen-pencil and stationary. She wouldn’t let me leave to college without asking “Pass, Id, Paisa, Mobile sab liya na?” Every time I get nervous before and exam, she cools me down. And every time I have a bad paper, lo! My favourite food appears. She makes sure that I never go hungry and always eat my lunch and dinner. 

My mother is also an inspiration for me. She never lets the fact that she is not a man affect her independence. She is one of the few women who drives the car on her own rather than depending on dad. She is as involved in all the finances and decision making as much as my dad is. She works for social causes and also helps in running the society in her free time. She keeps herself up to date with all the happenings in the world. She is an example that a woman’s rule is not restricted to the kitchen.

Not all is rosy-posy as I have written though. Sometimes we fight like some world war. We don’t agree on a lot of things. Sometimes I am just a punching bag to vent her anger out. But it doesn’t mean I hate her or anything, I know that she just wants the best for me. In days of my childhood I have been lonely and with low self-esteem, she was the only one who always believed in me. No matter how old I grow, who I meet and how successful I become, I know that I am doomed without mom. I would like to thank my mom for everything. (Mom, if you are reading this, I expect some pulikachal soon :P).