Page 50 - NIS English 01-15 July 2022

Nation PM's Blog

A mother is not an individual

or a personality, motherhood

is a quality. Mother never

expects from us.

and hymns. She loved a popular bhajan by
Narsi Mehta Ji - ‘Jalkamal chhadi jane bala,
swami amaro jagse’. She also liked the lullaby,
‘Shivaji nu halardu’.
Mother never expected us, children, to leave
our studies and assist her with the household
chores. She never even asked us for help.
However, looking at her work so hard, we
considered helping her our foremost duty.
I used to really enjoy swimming in the local
pond. So, I used to take all the dirty clothes
from home and wash them at the pond. The
washing of clothes and my play, both used to
get done together.
Mother used to wash utensils at a few
houses to help meet the household expenses.
She would also take out time to spin the
charkha to supplement our meagre income.
She would do everything from peeling cotton
to spinning yarn. Even in this back-breaking
work, her prime concern was ensuring that the
cotton thorns don’t prick us.
Mother avoided depending on others or
requesting others to do her work. Monsoons
would bring their own troubles for our mud
house. However, Mother ensured that we
faced minimum discomfort. In the searing
heat of June, she would clamber over the roof
of our mud house and repair the tiles. However,
despite her valiant efforts, our house was too
old to withstand the onslaught of the rains.
During the rains, our roof would leak, and
the house would flood. Mother would place
buckets and utensils below the leaks to collect
the rainwater. Even in this adverse situation,
Mother would be a symbol of resilience. You

48 New India Samachar July 1-15, 2022