Mommy Dear...

This should have been my first post. You know how everything in life starts with your mom. Your first peck on the cheek, first hug, first slap etc. And of course as Hindi movies have made us believe your first word is always 'Ma'. However I kept postponing writing this one in light of other events. But, returning home and hugging my mother after 8 loooonngg months has propelled me to write this. Am not much into dedications but this one is 'just for her'.

In a particular dialog in 'Main Hoon Na' Zayed Khan says: "Haan Ma hain na! Sabki Hoti Hain". To which SRK replies: "Nahin sabki nahin hoti". That one made me sit up. One of the rare occasions when I have paid attention to dialog in a Shahrukh Khan flick. Anyway, this one made me think how lucky I am to have a mom and also how painful it is to have one. I mean seriously! It's painfully irritating about how moms are always right about stuff. For example when I push away my plate that has ugly green leafy vegetables on it she is like "One day when you wont get home food you'll understand!" Uugh! I have been realizing the truth of that statement since the last five years that I have been away from home.

Another painful habit that moms have is the 3 step morning ritual. First of all, I am sure most of you will agree with me that even an alarm clock as loud as a fire engine siren fails to wake you up but one big yell from your mom and you are on your feet 'Aye Sir! Aye Sir!'. Every mom more or less has a deadline when their kids should wake up (that is in vacation). My mom's deadline is not that bad, not that good either but I am not complaining (Cant afford to, to her at least). It's between 8.30 and 9.00. This means the first call (shout) is at 8.30. Aww! mom just 5 minutes. Second one at 8.45. Fan is switched off, curtains are drawn... GROAN!!! Am almost awake now waiting for the final command. At 9 sharp, (she does not even have to see the time) PRIYANKA! getting up or not! This girl really does not listen! Everyday I have to wake her up! BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! (I have already run inside the bathroom). Stumble out of the bathroom, still half asleep and sit at the table. Dad, reading the morning paper says in a philosophical tone: "When we were your age..... " (Sigh! here it goes again) "We used to get up early in the morning with the sunrise and start working and...... " (I have already switched off).

The next mom thing is the gigantic glass of milk that she places in front of you. What is it with mom and milk and kids. She has taken it into her head that unless you empty this mug till its last drop you will not survive another day. Its like an ancient divine tradition that should not be broken or questioned even for a day. So, after you are awake and have had your milk the only thing left to do that she is concerned about is taking a bath. Its not possible to take a book and keep reading, not possible to browse the net, not possible to chat on the phone till you have heeded her word and taken a shower which faithfully completes the 3 step process (only to have her repeat it tirelessly every single day). And she does all of this without altering her daily routine of cooking, cleaning and countless other chores.

There is another thing about moms that is equally irritating and much more painful namely, 'The Silent Treatment'. This happens when you do something 'majorly wrong/naughty'. (For guys who are unaware of this one I suggest you go through every word of this as you will definitely get it from your girlfriends/wives if not from your moms.) So, this is when she stops talking to you entirely sometimes for hours also. Its the perfect example of the quiet before the storm. Believe me it is pure torture. Worse than drills that they make us do in sports practice. All the time you are praying 'Oh! c'mon mom! Just shout at me and say something and finish it off! But she will take her own merry sweet time to come around before she unleashes her full wrath and boy! its bad when you get it left, right, center, top, bottom, upper, lower mid... everywhere. Me being a naughty one really had a lot of that.

Another well known fact about mothers is that they just happen to make great food! Anyway, painful or not I am sure all of us who have had the privilege of having a mother cannot do without one. For starters, she makes the most awesome food in the whole entire universe. And then, whether it is to find an important file that has been misplaced, putting a hand on your head during exams, telling you not to get wet in the rain or just being there for you, it is impossible to do without her. Finally, as Rani Mukherji sums it up in another touching dialog from Hum Tum: "Bhagwan har jagah nahin ho sakte isliye unhone ma ko banaya".

This automatically takes me to the current plight of Niketa Mehta. I read that bloggers, gynecologists and doctors all across the country are discussing this so let me add my two cents (I hope though that it is worth more than that). If I hurt myself even a little and have some wounds on me my mother gets disturbed and upset and starts worrying. So what would be the predicament of a mother if she has to see her little one growing big with an unusual deformity? In today's achievement and success driven society every mother wants her kid to have the best and be the best. Won't Mrs. Mehta feel that her child has started almost 50 rings below the rest of the children in the success ladder? (and that is taking into consideration that the child even has a chance to see the ladder, much rather reach it). Agreed there are children who make it big even after having such deformities but if a handicapped child can be spared the pain from entering this world then why not? Medical bills itself will kill the family and added to that they have to see their child undergo pain every single moment when it could have been spared that agony. I could go on and on but let me just end here with agreeing to Charles Dickens when he says "The Law is an Ass" and of course in defense of the poor mother who has to be dependent on HC judges to decide her future and the future of her child.

A salute to all mothers.