'Meri Maa': Mothers and their five questions that can bring your world to a standstill
Mothers mean the world to us and our lives revolve around them. Their sermons are priceless and teach us the value of life. Their warmth, love and care cannot be exchanged or replaced. And, along with all this affection comes the added pressure of responsibilities. No, no, no... it's not about anything else, but the onus of answering all her questions correctly (more difficult than passing with flying colours in Board exams!), the onus of satisfying her — and sometimes, getting away with a white lie or two.
Phew!!! Given every typical mom's questions, that is a big ask. Just hear these out and you'll know why!
"Kahaan ja rahi ho?"
This is like a dart that pierces through you and you are left stunned, without an answer. It's a perfect day and you're planning a day out with your friends. All set to party — and there it comes! "Kahaan ja rahi ho?", and everything else around stops. If you say you are meeting friends, then the next question is, 'What's the occasion' and when you name a friend, the next sharp bullet will be 'But she had her birthday last month' and thus, the battle continues...
"Mera phone kyun nahi uthaya?"
Even if you pick up her phone call a million times and miss just one of her calls, there you go, this is an offence of the highest order and is considered a punishable act. And the result is nothing less than an added number of calls to top it up.
"Itni late kyun ho gayi?"/"Arre, tum jaldi kaise aa gayi?"
You are back at 7:00pm or 12:00am — the question remains the same. Time doesn't matter, it is all about why you are late and 1,000 actual reasons are immaterial. If your metro was running late, you could have taken a cab. If the cab had a flat tyre, you could have walked and if you have walked back home, well, why didn't you say you were coming late — someone would have picked you up.
And all hell will break loose if you are home early — because that means either you are unwell or your mood is off or something must have happened and then, the rest of the day will go in answering her questions.
"Woh tumhare saath kaun tha?"
N-number of reasons and names won't satisfy that question. She will definitely find out if you try hiding that you are dating someone. So, better just say who it is, instead of beating around the bush, because sooner or later, the detective in mom will crack the mystery.
"Itne kapdon ka kya karogi?"
Well, the usual one-liner you get to hear before every shopping expedition is 'Uff ho, itne kapdon ka kya karogi?' and because we refuse to change, the show must go on. You will often get to hear — you can go out of the house and the clothes can remain, or the dramatic 'Yeh saara kuch tumhare dahej mein bhej dungi!' to the more prosaic 'Abhi to pichle mahine hi naye kapde liye the' and quite honestly, no occasion or reason matters at the end of the day.
All this is in good humour and despite everything else, we just can't do without our moms and secretly, we aspire to become just like them because it is from them we learn to be what we are, independent, strong and making our lives worth living.
Salute to all mothers.
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