My Mom – the “driver” in the family!

When I was in school, I remember penning a card for my mom on one of her birthdays which read something like this………

Happy birthday to someone who

Protects like a father
Guides like a brother
Teases like a sister and
Loves like a mother!

When I look back at this creation today, 20 years later, it reflects so truly her amazing versatility.

We have been a family of four (now extended to five with my bro-in-law’s addition to it). Through our growing years till date, (I would like to believe I am still growing!) Mom has been a source of infectious energy in our lives. As one of my cousins says about her and I quote, “when we are depressed and in need of an injection of positivity (sic!), we drive to her place. After spending an hour of fun, laughter and contentment, we come back refreshed with renewed vigour and vitality for life”. Seems she has an alternate career lined up as a self-help guru! You think what I say is clichéd? Read on………

She had been diagnosed with Diabetes 18 years back. And Sciatica before that. And frozen shoulder after that. Add chickenguniya, measles (!) and what not in between! Do you think all this has dampened her spirit and zest for life? Visit us at 6 am or 11 pm and she’ll be smilingly welcoming you at the door. Want to discuss politics, music, films or sports and she’ll be an avid participant. Need to know recipes for Bengali, Tamil, Gujarati or Punjabi food, she’ll cook and show it to you how it’s done. From world news to neighbourhood gossip she’s clued on and has an opinion on every issue  No wonder, after my leaving the nest for pastures of work, none of my friends have stopped visiting home. In fact, my presence or absence is incidental and hardly matters!

You would think that after seeing her son “settled” at work, and her daughter “married” blissfully, she would relax and spend sum quiet time at home? Quiet? It’s actually the last adjective in her vocabulary. She’s taken up singing (intending to qualify for “sa re ga ma” no less), and is learning music. That is, when she’s not on orkut chatting up with “friends” of her contemporaries’ grandchildren! If my Dad is the “navigator” in the family and we children, playful backseaters, Mom is truly the “driver” of the family!

Did I say “driver”? She’s now even taken that literally! Not satisfied being driven around by Auto and Taxi wallahs (they take you for a ride (pun intended), she complains!), son, friends or relatives, she now wants to be in the driver’s seat, herself. You can never take her away from action any which way! Last heard, at 54 years of age, she was the eldest “student” at the driving school (and I can bet the most enthusiastic). When reports last came in, she’d conquered the roads of Jabalpur (my native place) on gears 3 and 4. The only problem, she tells me is that she can’t drive in “reverse”. Don’t you know, Mom? – that’s a gear you have never learnt in life!