Lately I have been remembering my mother a lot. One of the reasons behind the rumination is the way she brought us up. How she managed her career and home with equal aplomb, juggling between the myriad tasks with so meagre resources at hand. We never had a cook at home. So she cooked all three meals for five of us at home each single day, with great love and care. She never cut corners by serving lazy breakfasts like cornflakes, oats, bread jam etc. So it used to be Paratha and fried egg for breakfast during our school days and nutritious veg curry with rice etc for lunch. Dinner used to be simple fare like roti and some veg item cooked and served to us kids before 8 PM. How she managed to do all this along with her career, I can never begin to fathom. Add to this the extra chore of washing our clothes. We welcomed washing machine very late in our lives may be in class 6th. She also took extra care in our grooming. We were always dressed in our very best, she being an amazing seamstress, stitched all out clothes in her sewing machine at home. Till class 12th, we wore frocks created by her only. Did I mention, she used to knit our sweaters as well?! Yes, she was a jack of all trades and master of most.
An ordinary lady would have cribbed & crashed after coming home from work. But did she ever complain?! Never. Always sociable and welcoming to all relatives and neighbours alike, she loved to play host and served lip smacking dishes. Her biryani was to die for and eclectic dishes like pudding etc still make my mouth water. In those days, we never had cable tv at home so our sources for entertainment were limited. But we never felt the need of that. Because, she used to come home from work and take us out for shopping and snacks. I still remember our fav joint Super Snax in Mayfair Rourkela, where she used to take us for Dosas and Ice-cream followed by shopping. And all this, after a full day of work and cooking, cleaning etc. She didn't drive so her work involved a minimum of 2 hours of commute each single day, changing multiple autos to reach college. [She was a professor] And then a bit of walking to reach the auto stand as well. And every day, she used to get something or the other to eat for us while returning home. My fav was Alu Chop. Hence mostly it used to be that or chowmein at times...
Sometimes when I return home from work and I feel so dead inside, hardly have the energy to make a cup of tea. Can never begin to imagine how she managed three kids clinging to her and demanding her attention all the time and she managing to exceed our expectations always...I see lot of mothers around me and I observe different parenting styles these days. But nothing or nobody comes even close to what she was or she did for us. Super-woman she was. In every sense of the word. I still remember her words so very vividly, "Don't ever mourn my death, don't ever ever shed a tear in my memory...It will hurt me the most. Always keep smiling...And then I will come in your dreams to communicate with you all."
A mother's love is like an ocean. It never ends or changes...even with a shift in realms. So I will not grieve, because I know... anything that we lose will come round in another form...sooner or later.
