Saturday, May 12, 2007

Happy Mother's Day

Tomorrow in International Mother’s day and what better time would I get to do a post on my mother whom I consider the best mother in the world. I can almost hear you saying ‘Not better than mine’. Well I give up. Mothers are a unique species who are considered the best in the world by their children and so we have a whole generation of excellent people in the form of mothers. I felt that I was no good when compared to my mother and I almost hope (shamelessly of course) that my daughters think the same about me. Is that what people call fishing for compliments?? I am not exactly fishing for compliments but would not mind graciously accepting them when offered. Children are you listening???

‘PJ’………. That is my son. I can almost hear him.
Now, this was a term I heard him use often and managed to ignore till recently. Ignorance was bliss and I took it to mean something similar to DJ as in Disc Jockey. I even thought that I had perhaps heard him wrong but refrained from asking him to repeat it out of fear of being labeled an outdated museum specimen. So I pretended to understand but one does not always maintain caution and one day I made the mistake of asking him to explain.

“PJ means ‘poor joke’ mummy, but your jokes are not just poor they are ‘pathetic’…..”

Jokes apart I do enjoy a good rapport with my children and when we get together we interact at an equal level. They tease me like mad and I don’t give up easily. But wait a sec. I thought I was doing a post on my mother. And here I am…. Blowing my own trumpet. Sorry.

Well, my mother was a woman of few words. She had a remarkable dignity and immense will power. She was widowed at the age of forty and spent the next 21 years at her brother’s place, right till the youngest of us finished his engineering course and took up a job. That in all those 21 years there was no ill feeling between her and her sister in law speaks volumes of the manner in which she carried herself as also the generosity shown by her brother’s family in accommodating her. She, in her quiet way taught us not to make mountains of mole hills and to pass on the kindness that we received to others who may need them. My concern for the down trodden has its roots in the example shown by my mother and mami.

There have been times when I felt disappointed that while I did not inherit my mother’s fair complexion I was handed, of all things, her height. I hardly reach the kitchen shelf which was fixed at the lowest level possible to suit my needs. But I am also glad that any credit given to me for adjusting to my in laws or for showing remarkable patience and during trying times is actually the result of her upbringing. Whether it was nature or nurture I cannot say for sure. But I do know that the credits belong to her and the discredits are my own. We as a family are an accommodative lot and though we brothers and sisters differ in physical features we are the same when looks are ignored and our natures analyzed. After all, we have learnt life’s lessons from the same teacher. As the bearer of the culture inherited from her I only wish to hand over the seeds of love and kindness to my children, not by preaching from a pedestal but by leading through example.

A happy mother's day to all of you mothers!! May you all have a great time with your families.

20 comments:

Altoid said...

Hey HHG

I feel a bonding, being extremely vertically challenged myself :) which I inherit for most part(or so I believe) from my mom and her side of the family.

Happy mother's day to you and enjoy!

--altoid

Anonymous said...

wow. that was a lovely post. your mother must have been a wonderful lady.

Anonymous said...

hats off!!!!!! to u and ur mom..both for being remarkable women...

Vishesh said...

hope you enjoyed your day..

went out with my mom to the beach..and had a ice cream on the way and of course a little shopping...:)

cheers :)

Monika said...

happy mothers day to you :) mothers are the most incredible people...

i treated both my mom and my mil (luckily this time both are me)with a nice present and a meal cooked by me....

really motherhood is the perfect example of being selfless

Itchingtowrite said...

happy mother's day

Mahadevan said...

Each mother is unique. Mothers may differ in the way they bring up their children, but their world is confined to them and their children.

After her unfortunate widowhood, your mother could spend 21 years with her brother's family and bring up her children, speaks volumes about her one pointed determination - to bring up her children well.

" My concern for the down trodden has its roots in the example shown by mother and mami'- you have certainly inherited a great quality precisely because I too have inherited similar quality from my mother. She could not match my father in 'looks', but 'handsome is that handsome does'.

Puneet said...

Hi GM
A very happy mothers day...
You are mother of mothers and that too Hip Hop so a very Happy, Hip hop and satisfying mothers day, every day every moment....for countless years...

Hip Grandma said...

altoid:Your comment makes me feel included.yeah we cannot expect to inherit only the right and proper things and it is always better to inherit a good nature than good looks.

apu:Yes, my mother was great in that she never let her frustrations affect us.But then aren't all mothers great in their own way?

anon:Thanks a lot.I don't know abt myself but my mother was a great woman.I wish I could be half as good.

vishesh:I was able to talk to my children over the phone on mother's day.I am sure your mom enjoyed the treat you gave her.Wish her on my behalf.

monika:Lucky mothers both of them.To be treated by you with a meal prepared by you.I am sure they had a great time.Good of you to include both of them.

ITW:Thanx and wish you the same.What did ojas and Tejas do to make your day special?

mahadevan:sir,you are right when you say that mothers may differ in their approach but their motive remains the same.The well being of their children.Do wish your wife on my behalf.

puneet:Thanx for your good wishes.A happy mother's day to your mom too.I have the greatest regard for people like her.

Sunita said...

Happy Mother's day (sorry ..got a little late :))

I am sure your kids are gonna be writing volumes about their mother.

Unknown said...

I dont think we need a mother's day to make mothers special . Mothers are the greatest people on earth and it is something we need as children to appreciate all the time . I know my 2 girls do and I did it when Ma was alive and continue with my other mother ( my Ma in law)

deepthi vinod said...

gran thanx for the wishes and wish u a big one too and a hug frm me to you....

Lavs said...

Sorry to be commenting here grandma. Try this link--http://bloglinx.bravehost.com/. Fill in the blog links which you often visit and every time there is a new post, you can activate the system to display a star/unique identifier next to that link...its a simple process...do let me know if you have any difficulties.

Hip Grandma said...

sunita:thanks a lot.My children will write abt me for sure.But it's going to be different from what I wrote.I could never do any masti with my mom since she was bogged down with her own set of worries.my children don't spare me at all.

deepti:thanx a million and a big hug from me too.

lavs:thanx for your suggestion.I tried it but without success.will try again in a day or two.

Vishesh said...

hi hiphopgmom :)

on want your opinion on what i have written -here

srijithunni said...

Happy mother`s day to you too, HG`mom..!

With Best Regards,
Srijith

Anonymous said...

Mom, belated happy mother's day. You are FFC, you also know that na :D

Hip Grandma said...

Srijith:Thanx.why no posts from you?

anon:son,I take FFC to mean fantastic, funny and cute.Any other expansion?

Anonymous said...

FFC = fishing for compliments. You're not as clued in as you think you are, mom :D

Usha said...

Women of our earlier generations had so much to teach us in terms of their graciousness, acceptance and forgiving. It is possible that present day youth might think of some of these as being too much of a pushover but I think it all helped them find happiness in what they had which is becoming a rare art these days.
Nice post Padma. I am sure your kids feel the same way about you - at least one of them does and I have written proof of her admiration for you!