Mother Sweet Mother of Mine

Priya Sakhi...

It is Mother's day-- weekend. Do you celebrate Mother's Day? , my dear Spanish friends asked me-- I thought for a moment and said ,'yes, we do, now'. I am so thankful that God made me a Mother. But this is not about me. It is about her.... Yup My amma, ma mere, mathe...

In my life my Mother has played a pivotal role.

Being the youngest in a family of three, the only girl, I was my Father's pet.  My brothers always teased me silly.  My mother smiled indulgently then. Amma was strict but then dad was putty in my hands!
Amma was always poised and both my dad and mom gave us three the best, encouraged us in our passion and talents in our respective fields.

Our house was a veritable `fun' house. My brother's friends and  band mates were in and out of our house, teasing me and spoiling Mahesh's little sister. Life was beautiful and fun, filled with music and poetry and dance, of course! And my mom silently cooked away the meals, talked with all the guys who were there but still quietly she went on with her chores, cooking, driving us, yup she can  still drive (and I cannot differentiate between a brake and an accelerator) .

Then my father passed on at a crucial time in my life-- in my 9th grade. We were devastated! My whole world came tumbling down-- but there she was-- My Amma--- silently bearing the pain of losing her loved one so early. I faltered, she helped me silently, saw to it I bounced back into my life of academics and dance--  she could solve my mathematical problems and emotional ones too.

She is very intelligent! She could sew, make my pretty jadai-s for dance, stitch costumes. She can change bulbs, attend to small repairs of appliances.  She speaks good English,  Tamil,  Hindi and Malayalam and hey even a smattering of French! She reads and is up to date with current affairs!
Wow Amma is there something that you cannot do?

Everybody, my friends, her siblings and kith and kin marvel at her. She is strong! She is feminine!
She is crazy about dance-- learnt from the venerated  Guru Govindaraja Pillai in Bombay, learnt Kathak and practised everyday too! If I am in this field of Natyam it is because of her.

She is one of those Moms whose support is complete but she is not an aggressive mom.
She is always well dressed. She still matches her purse with her sari-s.
She waits for  my dance  programmes. She notices everything-- from jewellery to that new padam I try.
She prays for all of us. I burden her with my troubles. I feel when she prays my trouble seems far away.
She prays for my friends too.

She is the epitome of positivity!
Lost her first born to cancer. Her grief is indescribable, I know. But she does not wallow in self- pity. She says that  she is so blessed to have had someone as special as Mahesh in her womb. In his passing away, he has given life to so many children battling with the dreaded disease-- she says, as she chokes with tear filled eyes. And then she quickly wipes her tears and flashes that lovely smile.

She is there for her grandchildren. She cares for them, for  Bhargav she was his first guru, from  teaching him to navigate the  steps of the split-level dining room to teaching him Tamil and Mathematics-- Boy !he is his Swarnamma's boy. (But with her grandchildren she is very indulgent and less strict) .

A special bond she shares with them. Manu, Bhavu and Bhargu are her darlings!

She is a little girl who particularly loves Mango Ice cream but never succumbs to gluttony!

Yeah she is all there-- she is hip-- she is on Facebook, writing comments without any typos or grammatical errors. She solves Sudoku!

She is an inspiration to many of us. She is an unsung Heroine of our Family.

She is the ubiquitous Swarnamma!

She is --MY AMMA.