Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,

Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,

Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,

But only one mother the wide world over.

~George Cooper

How do you write about the woman who taught you to write in the very first place? What do you write which does justice, even if remotely, to the woman who brought you to this world? How do you write about the woman who taught you everything? Impossible, isn’t it? No words, no posts could ever measure up to what she has done, none at all.

Maa, I don’t quite know how to describe her. Like every mother in every family, she’s our pillar of strength. She’s the centre of our universe. If you ask me about Maa, the first thing that I have to say is that she’s unlike any other in the entire world and beyond. But then I guess everyone would say the same about theirs, isn’t it?

How do I put down in words the things she taught me, taught us? How? I want to write so much but I just can’t form a simple chain of thoughts. There’s too much to write, more than my ability to present something in writing really! Well, still a girl’s got to try, right?

You know, my Maa has never been a conventional mother? She’s never restricted us with dos and don’ts as mothers often do. Perhaps that’s the best part of our relationship, the best thing about her? So, will it surprise you if I say that the greatest gift she has given us is, in fact, the power to make decisions all by ourselves? We have never been shackled by the need for approvals. Hardly ever.

She has given us the strength to face the world outside of our homes. Do you know that the toughest obstacles you face as a woman are the battles you fight daily, even for the simplest of rights of being taken seriously? Well, she has taught us how to win this battle every single time. She has taught us never to shy away from a rightful fight, especially when it’s for our rights. We are women, not charity cases. Yes, my sister and I have learnt that from our mother. 

Our happiness is ours to take, that’s what she inculcated in us. Children often fall prey to peer pressure, right? Well, it was never the case with me or my sister. Maa made sure we never measured our joy by comparing it to another. Whatever I am today, whatever little sense prevails in me is all because of her. She has made me strong, so strong that I can face anything and still come out of it ready for another battle.

And then one of the reasons why issues concerning women are so close to my heart is again my Maa. She has taught me that being a woman is not the same as being the symbol of sacrifice. No, sir. Never during my childhood did I hear her say that cooking is an integral part of my education or that once I grow up I need to give up my dreams for my husband, my in-laws or anyone else for that matter. She has equipped my sister and me to live a life of our own choice, on our own terms, with no compromise whatsoever. Teaching us how to be independent, enabling us to speak our mind was right on top of her agenda as a mother and in fact, still are.

Maa taught us how to live our lives unapologetically. She has shown us our worth. She’s my expert in life, the one who has never told me to dress a certain way just because I’m a girl. She’s a woman of substance in every possible sense.

What do I tell you about her? It’s not humanly possible to articulate what I feel. There are too many memories and stories about her, to try and write them down would be to attempt describing the enormity of the universe in a word. Possible? Well, not really!

“To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colours of a rainbow.” —Maya Angelou