The Dilemma of every Girl next door..!

A bright sunny morning filled with love, laughter, smiles, happiness, colours and beautiful decor. It was one of those days, where everything seemed to be vibrant and colourful.

A girl in her mid 20’s dressed up in a beautiful yellow saree, adorned with a garland of marigold was all set for her marriage rituals. The big day of her life, the day which would change her life upside down. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled at everyone around her, though being excited about the grand evening, deep inside she seemed to be lost. Lost in her kingdom of thoughts, her worries were always covered with a twinkling smile on her curvy lips. She joyfully danced to the tunes of rituals and laughter with all her loved ones.

Her heart thumped faster when she finally was done with her morning ceremonies and was now about to get dressed up as “The Bride” for the grand evening. In between all the glittery blushers and lipsticks, her mind seemed to dig down the memory lane where she had been living throughout her life until now. Right from hanging on dad’s shoulder and learning to walk, from riding her first bicycle to driving her first car, from getting dressed in mom’s saree and now owning a one of her own, from kindergarten to college, everything seemed to be a flashback for her. From bed to closet, from address change to surname change, from getting up to mom’s pampering and then waking up to responsibilities she was anxious about all the dramatic changes of life.

And just then, someone uttered “Ohhh my God, you look so beautiful”, right at that moment from her past to her present, she wore a smile again. The bride-to-be started glowing and daydreaming about the new chapter of life. The chapter where she would be accompanied by someone day in and out, where every day would be a new start, where life would revolve around each other.

Dressed in the most graceful attire, she stood right in front of her parents. They could not take their eyes off from their not so little girl and the only thing they whispered with teary eyes was “Our little child, the wedding dress, the jewellery, the henna on your hand and the unstoppable smile on your lips makes you the most beautiful girl, a girl whom we love the most and we will continue loving you more and more”. Their words made her nerves weak and she hugged them like never before. Moments of happiness were now covered under a cloud of emotions, the emotions that were hard to express but were worth living for. And she realized, now that house would no longer be addressed as her house but would rather be addressed as “Her parent’s house” and while she took every step out of that place, the place where she entered as a kid and was leaving now as someone’s “wife to be” made her more nervous.

As she entered the beautiful venue decorated with a wreath of aromatic flowers, her nervousness flew away and her face was now covered with excitement and waves of smiles. While in her mind, she was sailing with high and low tides of emotions, she was very well aware of the present moment. The moment where even a drop of tear from her eye would be an end to everyone’s happiness and a grin on her lips would rejoice everyone’s face with sparkles of happiness. And to make the moment most special for everyone, all that she chose was to blow away her worries and to be as crazy as she could be.

From being a daughter to someone’s wife, she learned, she smiled, she cried and she made the most out of her most important day.

 

 

A Second Life…

November 1994

Turning back the pages of life, to a memory that brought us back from the demon’s eye and dropped us into God’s lap. I hardly remember an ounce of the incident, as I was just 2 years old. The only image that I can sketch is from my mom and dad’s eyes and their deeply rooted wounds.

Like every other family, mine was equally excited about the upcoming Diwali vacation. It was a trip to a holy destination, a well-known religious place of all Jains “Palitana”. And my sister had been more happy about it because it was my first holiday with everyone. A trip with the little one that gave them a special reason to cherish. But, none of us was aware of the forthcoming darkness that Diwali was about to bring.

Faces glued with delight and sparkles of the festive season, 5 of us: my dearest Nani, mom, dad, sister and tiny me, we started our awaited trip. Oh..I missed out the main person, our driver who supposedly was the lead of our journey, a journey which took a disastrous U-turn after 5 hours.

Till the time we had our lunch the journey had been a smooth one, waves of laughter were being shared and tiny me was being cuddled. Post lunch, everyone was about to doze off, tiny me was already asleep in my daddy’s lap seated on the front seat. And just before our lives revolved my dad placed me back seat, in my mom’s lap.

The clock ticked 3:00 pm, everyone was asleep and the lead person “Our Driver”, who wasn’t supposed to sleep, even he drowsed. Our car which was moving at a speed of 100, hit the tree roadside and the car shredded into 2 parts, the front glass crackled into pieces and damaged my dad’s entire face. My mom and Nani were hit by the front seats and everyone in the car was unconscious except my sister. Her bravery and smartness that day saved every one of us. She started screaming out “Help..! Help..!” as much as she could and by God’s grace, a passing car stopped by, for our help.

The generous person who stopped by was MLA of the district. He picked my sister out of the car and started looking out for everyone else in the car. When he looked at my father, he felt that he was no more and so he just dumped him in the trunk of his car. He hurriedly pulled everyone and rushed to the nearest hospital. Throughout the journey, he was worried about how many would survive the crash, along with my dad he had thought that even my mom or Nani’s life would end. Apart from everyone else in the car, the only lucky person to survive without any bruises was “ME”. The change from front seat to back seat was the fate that God had planned for me.

The days had been tough and the most dreadful ones. While my family member from our hometown reached the hospital which almost took them a day, we had seen Humanity taking a birth in that hospital. My dad, mom and Nani were a victim of major injuries and were under observation for the entire time. They were in a situation where it was hard to recognize them by their face or voice. And all the while when I and my sister were all alone, the natives of that little town took care of us. Not only did they handle us but they made sure my family had enough food and necessities to survive. By the time, my family reached we already had a little family who looked after us. By God’s grace and prayers chanted for my family, all of us survived the disaster and recovered within months.

Today when I hear this story for like n^th time, my soul still trembles. What if I had been in the front seat? What if my sister too had been unconscious? What if the MLA would not have cared to stop? What if every one of us had been a victim of devil’s plan? What if God had not been kind to us? What if in the hospital no one had looked after me and my sister? And on and on, thoughts which might not be that meaningful to everyone but that’s what has made my family fall in love with our treasured life. Tear’s bowl down my eyes when I think of how grateful God had been to my family. The scars and wounds still appear fresh on my mom and dad’s face but the storm has made our belief in God and Humanity strong enough to love our life more and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

24 * 7 * 365

Have you ever come across someone who works in a robotic manner for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year?

It might sound like a worst nightmare, but can you think of working in the same manner?

The answer would be definitely a big “NO”.. Right?

I do know a person who has been working in the same manner for years and years and would continue to do so till her last breath.

She is an angel and a special gift from God ~ I call her “Mom, Maa, Mother, Mummy”.

Just by reading the word MOM, thousand thoughts and precious moments might have streamed your mind.

Right from the moment a girl child is born, the stereotype thought of her getting married and one day becoming a mother is born. At each and every phase of her life, she is warned to be safe, to strictly abide the society norms.And then things change when a girl’s status is changed into someone’s wife, from getting up early, cooking for the family, making sure the house is rightly cleaned, taking care of in-laws, handling the social cores and lastly waiting for her husband till the time he is not back home and on and on.

The things don’t just end here. Her life takes a leap,the moment a little treasure starts forming in her womb, her dreams of becoming a perfect mother starts swirling in her mind. The journey of nine long months, where she sees herself growing up in all together a different woman. The months of craving, the first kick in her womb, the feeling of hearing mumma and much more. The tears of joy start streaming when she holds her baby for the first time, the tiny little eyes, the tiny little hands and the tiny little bundle of happiness.

Her role than triples up, a WIFE, a DAUGHTER-IN-LAW and a MOTHER. The shoulder of responsibilities seems heavy but she smiles in each and every moment. The motherly duties that starts from waking up early, feeding the baby, changing nappies. managing the house hold cores and staying awake till the time baby does not sleep. At times, when she thinks of taking a nap, right in middle of her deep sleep she hears the cry and is back on her toes that is how a mother’s role is. With passing time the duties keep on increasing packing school bags, focusing on child’s  education and making sure she never fails in her role. She is the one who stays awake till everyone in the house falls asleep, she is the one who weeps every time her child falls sick, she is the one who gets angry on herself every time she scolds her child. The purest soul and the most caring heart is what a mother is made up of.

A father and a mother together make a family, but the culture, the values and the life lessons pass on from a mother to a child. It’s rightly said a house without a mother is a house with empty walls. We might often fail to express or might even fail to understand how difficult it is to get in her shoes, unless we ourselves become a parent.

A baby Girl, A teenager, A Wife, A Mother, A Sister, Aunt and A Grandmother, a Woman is above everything. Understand her, make her feel special, love her to the core.

P.S: A mother’s love can never be paid off, on this mother’s day grab the chance and let her know how special she is.

#CherishMotherhood