MORE THAN GOD.....BUT UNDERRATED...!!!

Let me start by admitting that this post has been inspired by a few lines that my dearest(..and only) wife, Gul penned for her lovely mother.

The days when I slept in your lap,
and you never moved away.
The days when troubles surrounded me,
and you came in the way.
Cooked for me after tiring routine,
the days when I said;
“Oh Mom….what bad cuisine!!!”
Know its late realising all this,
But hard when I so much miss,
a pat for all the rights and a scolding for all the wrongs.
Though leading a wonderful life,
But its impossible forgetting the time.
The day when I left home for another sky,
And you had tears in your eye.

I have told her on quite a few occasions that she is good at poetry. I have been trying to convince her to keep those poems stored somewhere for us to enjoy later in life. But she doesn’t listen. Anyways, she has aptly brought out the importance of the word “Mother” in our lives.

I know it is difficult for her being away from the person who gave birth to her and then brought her up so well. Moreover, she also longs for the presence of my mother who would have guided her at this early stage of her married life. It becomes all the more important because ours is an altogether different culture and she needs some elder to adapt quickly. She is a fast learner and learning well under my expert eyes…hehehe. I just booked my parents’ tickets and so the Kitchen team is going to get stronger soon. But such is life. A woman develops the traits of a wonderful mother when she moves away from her mother. What an irony?????

But I feel there is logic here because this is the stage when a woman realises the importance of a mother’s presence in a child’s life. That is when she imbibes all the values that go on to make her a good mother later on. She becomes much more responsible and gradually gets comfortable at the art of juggling. The transition into an “Inhouse Management Guru” is a tough one. The art of motivation, leadership, delegation of authority and planning etc. are perfected by a woman only when she gets her hands dirty in the daily rigours of life.

It is said that a daughter is closest to her father and a son to his mother. I love my mother a lot but my father has been my buddy and yet I can share with her what I can’t with my father. It is so assuring to be around her. I left Shillong in 2005 and while leaving that beautiful place, I could see her eyes struggling to hold back tears. I didn’t give her a hug then to console her as I do not like to be seen as emotional. In these seven years, I have not spent much time with her. But now I do miss her a lot. Especially after marriage it seems that I am missing her much more. Perhaps, this is happening because now I have settled down and distractions are less. I come back home and see a daughter missing her mother. I get into the kitchen along with my wife to experiment and we miss the guidance of an expert hand. I think about her age or I find out that she is not keeping well and then I am flooded with all the bad thoughts.

We take our mothers for granted but the fact that she means the world to us remains clouded till we are deprived of her very presence. When she used to try and help us, we wanted to be independent and now when we have the freedom to act at will, we miss her interventions at every stage. I have grown up, I am earning fine, I am married and I know how to look after myself but in essence, I am still that innocent kid who is eagerly waiting to be pampered. Every kid is a good kid around his or her mother. That is her power. The love and affection somehow magically rubs off on us and gets the childlike innocent side of us to come out in its full glory. She is equal to God because she remains in our subconscious mind and we children selfishly remember her when we are nervous or afraid or hopeful or in trouble. God may or may not come but a mother surely is always around as long as she lives. That way, she is on a higher pedestal than the almighty as well.

Guys, just go back a few sentences(oh plz…cmon you have anyways come this far)and you will find that there is only selfishness when I tell you that I need my mother to be around. You go and ask her why would she like to be with her son and she would say, “because my son needs me!!!”.

Saluting all MAAs and Mummas again…….