A Tribute to the Best Moms on this Mother's Day

A Tribute to the Best Moms on this Mother’s Day

This is a small effort to thank our moms on this special occasion of Mother's Day. This tells us the story of how we grew up and been cocooned by our mothers who walked through every difficulty of life for us. A very happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mothers out there.

From left to right- Mourpriya, Rupai, Subhasree, Guddu

Life has been good to both of us from the very beginning. Like everyone else who is reading this blog, our moms have been supportive and loving throughout. Here you may think why am I saying “we”, that be because I am referring to my childhood friend (best friend forever) Moupriya. On this Mother’s Day, we planned to pay our tribute to the best moms in the universe by depicting our childhood story and how we were cocooned by our mothers. This story (the reality of course) has been written by Moupriya Mukherjee, she has referred to me as Subho, my mom as Rina aunty and let me introduce her mom whom I called ‘aunty’, she is my inspiration even today and to my mom, she believes that aunty was the best friend she ever had. My mom and I talk about her often and recall her loving and motherly nature. Let’s go ahead and see what she has written for us!

Subho's Mom, Rina Aunty

She is my bestest friend.", that's how we both would often introduce each other to people, as five years old, we barely had any idea of correct grammar. Being the two youngest, similar looking toddlers in that year's nursery batch, we became best friends from the first day of school.

This seemed to be usual, isn't it? Well now comes the interesting part, our moms. Subho's mom, Rina Aunty, as I still call her, let me tell you still looks the same (You can get in touch with her to know the secret). She was always this strong, different than the crowd, fun woman and let me remind you it was in the 1990s, it took courage to make your own identity especially if it was unconventional.

My Mom and me

 My mom, on the other hand, was a lover of art, Rabindra Sangeet, Tagore's poetry, All India Radio, she auditioned for a news anchor while she was 7 months pregnant with me. That's when she decided to prioritize me and stayed home to enjoy motherhood, she was 28 then, and it was a big deal in 1988 to be a mother at that age.

So these two amazing women met at our school and became best friends too! Back then it was not very common for people to see that both kids and their mums were best friends, so they used to be quite amused. There had been days when my mom came to pick me up and the teacher had sent out Subho, they used to be confused all the time.

Today when I am 30, and I look back at our childhood, it feels this bond of love and friendship that we both shared not only between us but also with our moms, have played a major role in making us what we are. Oh! By the way, did I tell you all, that I and Subho are still bestest friends(nah, I don't care about the grammar even now, the expression matters). I am based in Pune, she is staying in Singapore, raising a beautiful princess, Saanvi. Distance, time difference, other commitments, we have been able to bypass them and we have been able to maintain our bond and to be honest, it's stronger now.

When we both see Saanvi growing up now, we often recollect our childhood days. And we realize what an important and major role the parents have in shaping a child's personality. Mothers, no doubt gets to spend a little more time with the kids, but we were fortunate to have equal contributions from our dads as well, and that's the best way to be I believe.

Our love and Subho's daughter, Saanvi

While in elementary school, both our moms did a lot of things differently. The most significant thing that we remember as kids, they were so interactive with us. Whatever happened in school they would ask us to narrate to them. They would often engage us in day to day conversations and ask for our opinions. We had those tape recorders with cassettes back then, they would make us learn rhymes, alphabets, numbers, and record them. And then play them back to us, and what an amusement it was, I still remember them clearly, one of the best memories of childhood. Another valuable thing that I realize now was the importance that was given to us and the attention with which they listened to all our blabbering, they never shut us up and that is what has helped us in a great way to be good listeners and empathetic towards others. Their way of correcting us was also far from conventional, I hardly remember being shouted at or thrashed, they would just tell us we did something wrong, explaining why it was wrong and we would know that's something we need not repeat ever.

They would encourage us to take up different hobbies and learn new languages, me and Subho tried everything to be it dancing, painting, swimming, rifle shooting (yes, you read that right). Both of them made sure that we take part in school events, competitions and made friends. This helped us immensely in growing up to be confident and friendly teenagers. I remember be it going out to restaurants or vacation we both would often strike up conversations with strangers without any hesitation.

As we stepped into our teens, mom and aunty suddenly became our friends. They would never object us from bringing friends home (girls and boys, we were in a coeducational school). They would share stories from their younger days and that made us comfortable to share our experiences with them. They never forced us to get 90% marks, but yes, they always emphasized learning and understanding. Most importantly, they allowed us to decide for ourselves, what we wanted to do with our lives.

Our moms, have inspired us to be good human beings first and taught us to respect people irrespective of their age or class, I consider that to be one of the biggest virtue in today's intolerant world. Rina aunty still inspires me in so many ways, she is one of the inspirations that motivate me to keep working no matter what age I reach. My mom, although in my memories, still helps me take a lot of decisions and guides me through life. I feel we were blessed to have such Mothers who have been proud of our achievements no matter how small they were.

This Mother's Day, I remember my mom and hope she is happy and still proud of me up there. And I know I still have a friend and another mom in Rina Aunty. We wish both you awesome and inspiring women a Very Happy Mother's Day. We love you both!

Please take a step forward to express your thought through comments and let us know your story, your mother, your childhood & a friend for life.