Every year Mother's day comes and goes like all
other days, but I never stopped to wonder about its origin. I did not need to
... Mom was no more and for me that day meant missing her terribly and
remembering her... I do not know what prompted me to look for facts about
this... perhaps because it was that day again - January 18th - the day I lost
her to an accident. Perhaps I was missing Mom more than usual today ....
Unbelievable but true, I read that history says Mother’s Day started as
an anti-war movement in the 1850s by Ann Reeves Jarvis. Ann Reeves Jarvis had
initiated clubs to improve sanitary conditions, lower infant mortality and tend
to wounded soldiers during the US Civil War.…. but it was her daughter Anna
Jarvis was responsible for what we call Mother's Day in 1908. For Anna it
wasn't a day to celebrate all mothers but a day to celebrate the best mother
you have ever known and sadly it is said that she spent most of her later life
fighting what it had become - a commercial event.
No matter what history says I do believe that Mother need to be celebrated every day just because they are the one person God created to take care of things when he could not... you know that saying "God created God cannot be everywhere so he created a "MOTHER "......
"The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children"~ Jessica Lange
How true is that ...let me quote a few lines from my book YOUNG AND SIXTY (Page 95).....
"My neighbour's words still ring in my ears saying "your Mom used to pray, take me instead".... I truly believe that God listened, because my brother-in-law did live many years thereafter, perhaps the number of years my Mom would have....... Mom was true to the word and meaning of "Mom", a selfless, loving human who sacrificed her wants and needs for her daughter..... "
........and then there are those Hindi films ... those very filmy mothers that make mothers seem like they are meant to be sacrificing lambs to the slaughter and never ending drama queens ....that torn white saree, that frame in the hand and "Mere bete aayenge, mere Karan Arjun aayenge..zameen ki chaati phad ke aayenge, aasman ka seena cheer ke aayenge," really??? ........or then that never ending coughing mother on a sewing machine.... but then it could also be that sophisticated mom who turns and opens the door that exact moment the son is standing at the door "aaaa aa aa ..kabhi khushi kabhi gam" types......or it would be the most favourite doting mother.... Way back in my times, all mothers were the suffering sacrificing types....and there used to be that one eternal mother in every second film, namely Nirupa Roy, with the most popular dialogue ‘Mere paas Maa hai!’ today to her credit..... then there was that ever messed up hair and unhappy faced Leela Chitnis.... that ray of hope the "aaye meri zohra jabeen" Achala Sachdev ...the dimpled Durga Khote.. and Mother India Nargis who stands out as perhaps one in very few as strong willed mother who sacrifices her son for truth...... and then there was that mother that probably no one would ever want to celebrate mother's day with, Lalita Pawar, the wicked and scheming mother+mother-in-law....
.....but mothers are mothers at the end of the day .... in English we say Mom, Mum, Mummy, Mommy, Mother ...in Hindi we say Maa .... in Marathi we say Aai....and believe it or not Wiki says that in Japanese the word is Okaasan or Haha (Haha? now that's a good one indeed).....and so on... No matter how we address them, they make us who we are and we need to thank them for being there for us every step of the way...
So you decide what's the best way to celebrate your mother.. Whether it’s a phone call (they always are waiting for that, you know), or taking her out to lunch.......There are a million ways to celebrate her for who she is, but end of the day, just add that little spice... words that all that all mothers need is to hear - "Thank you for all you've done for me” ...“I am glad you are MY Mom” .... and don't forget to ask her “What can I do for you?”, though I guarantee she will say "I am fine and I don't need anything".... The next coming Mother's Day think simple love..... Remember its cool to be seen with her because her unconditional love won’t stop no matter where you are ....no matter how hard you try ....or how old you ....or how far away you are living .... Remember a simple phone call if you are too far away or tight hug and a "I love you, Mom".... that's what they are waiting for... that's all I want to tell Mom (wherever you are) and that is all I am waiting for too.
