An Ode to Mother : My First Expert

       When a National Scholar ,who was a district topper among girls in Board exams, as well as a Masters in Philosophy , chooses her home over a career as a Professor in any leading college , you get to wonder what's the reason for such huge sacrifice . I'll take this opportunity to shed some light on my mother , Mrs Indrani Kar  , my first expert , and bring her to the spotlight from the usual low profile she enjoys being in.

     I've never stopped giving her troubles from the time i've been born, getting hospitalised twice before the age of two. She was there all through , by my side, cramped up in a baby cot, to look after my wellbeing.

          Despite leaving service, Mom has never lost touch with education , making sure that me & my younger brother received the best possible academic training. From taking us to school , to managing our study hours, to checking our homeworks, and asking questions from our class lessons ,she was the ultimate tutor one could ever expect to have. Preparing breakfast, school tiffin , dinner - she was the one factor who made our family of four never worry about anything . It was only at times when she fell ill, that we could realise the mess that we were, without her.

        All other mothers of her age group in our locality used to come down every evening for their fun meetings, but my mother utilised her spare time to haul the two of us to our Music and Art classes . She herself searched for and dug up good story books, pushed us into reading them, and encouraged creative writing . She instilled in us the belief that even we could have our articles published in children's magazines , when we felt that it was difficult to see our writings in print ! The joy of getting my work featured somewhere never waned since my first article came out!!

         The fact that our father is a Doctor , made her job even more difficult , as she had to take care of all the shopping part too . Yet, we never found her grumbling one bit about the hardships that she undertook. On the contrary , my brother and me used to get angry at times about her constant vigil. But I now know, that it's only because of our mother that I'm a Doctor myself today, and my Brother is an Engineer . Besides this, we do excel in extracurricular activities too. I've got prizes in numerous Singing , Art & Quiz competitions, and everytime I get praised , I know that all these laurels are actually deserved by this lady, who had given up her own pleasures and luxuries just to make her children become better human beings.

            Multitasking was a feature of my mother, long before it was a feature of a Smartphone! And if anyone thought that all these policing of our activities made her unsocial, he’s wrong , because even now, she manages to stitch new dresses for newborns, writes poems , does painting on clothes (fabric painting) , and gifts them to family members on occasions. She’s the first person to catch up on an ailing relative in a hospital or enquire about the wellbeings of people all around us.
          Both my brother and me are working nowadays , so mom gets time for herself, which she spends doing social work with her friend who runs an NGO . Often, she stays out whole nights to provide blankets to footpath dwellers of our city in winter, or clothes to destitutes & street children in festive season.

     I sometimes do tease her about being the "Busiest Socialite" in the city, because i don't ever find her sitting idle. It is true that she has never shied away from social responsibilities and for that, she is loved by all. In any crisis situation , my mother is the go-to person for advice, for me ,as well as our neighbours and family members alike....and everyone values her judgement and opinions. She has got a power of handling deals and negotiations. It's this innate ability to stay cool and tackle awkward situations that amaze me at times, and I try to imbibe these qualities.
       Mom has taught me : success has no shortcuts , never to compromise with self respect and to be honest at all points of my life…. I try to follow these virtues which she possesses that make her the person I feel secure with!

With Mom....on the day of my Convocation at my Medical College

Written as part of the My First Expert  contest , by Godrej Expert Rich Creme hair color , in association with Indiblogger. You can find out more about their range of hair colours here.