I am so sick of seeing “Send your mother flowers if you care” or “She was the one who stayed up all night when you studied and now gift her a blah blah blah” that I can burn down each such shop that screams commercialization!
Mother’s Day to me is special, don’t get me wrong just that I can’t take the commercialization crap and the fact that kids who are gifting their mothers cards et al, tomorrow refuse to acknowledge her choices as a woman, and she’s expected to sacrifice.
My own mother went for trips with patter leaving us alone every year – thus infusing the concept of ‘lone time’. her funda was simple – I have a life too beyond being your mom. So true, the sacrificial image of mothers really irks me – sacrifice is there is each relationship that we live – however why is it only highlighted on Mother’s Day? Why is Father’s Day projected as a remembrance of all those fun things that we did with him as a kid – don’t fathers sacrifice too?
Guess, this is indeed a Bollywood hangover – where Nirupa Roy’s and Rakhi’s have all waited for their Karan Arjun to come back and thus portrayed the ever so pitiful mother image. This Mother’s Day when The-Vault asked me to pen down something for them – I decided to ask Shashikala and Bindu to come back. After all, the need is to spread the word that mother’s also need a life of their own and they are not selfish if they demand it. Remember an old letter from my own self to the 6 year old me – I strive to tell her that Ma has a life too, beyond being our Mom!
Mother’s Day also meant me trying to tell the world aloud that we should also give a thought on the topic that i cover in my book A Calendar Too Crowded. My Mother’s Day story is based on a childless couple. It is all about craving motherhood by a woman whose husband lives in denial and says “it’s her fault’! A barren woman, termed as witch, excluded from joyous occasions, the one who cries every time the moon brings in blood – haven’t you met such a woman ever in your own life? Almost 1 in every 6 couples face problems in conceiving – it is a build up and not a “fault” – especially that of the woman! Let’s realize that this Mother’s Day, I pray!
Mother’s Day brought in special interviews at NaariSakhi and The Sip of Life – at both places I give out a bit more about my book, my inspiration and my favorites. The interview with Premium Woman discovers my relationship with my mother in detail.
A lot of mothers were found to be distressed with their kids and thus me and the ever so witty Ritu Lalit decided to de-stress such mothers with problems. We play Agony Aunts in a special column at Wrtierscafe and provide unique solutions to problems. Considering it’s Ritu – trust me laughs galore there! She blogs about the same on her blog too!
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In other news:
Pooja Pillai interviews me here and refers to her earlier review of the book. The Vault interviews me too about my book and more.
R’s Mom, Vanshja, Dhruv and Ajay humble me with their reviews, while Anuradha Goyal makes me want to rush and hug her. Anuradha Goyal is India’s largest individual repository of reviews and she’s one woman with hell lot of wit and guts. An avid travel blogger and a brilliant story teller whose warmth is so infectious. I can go on and one about her but will stop. Do discover her more at her Book review blog and also at her Travel Blog.
Another very close blogger friend and guide Sangeeta Khanna writes about my book here. One gutsy woman whose healthy living tips are to die for. Trust me, she researches so well that her diet chart will never fail you! They have worked for me (a detailed post coming up) – thus I stand true witness and swear by it!
Hyderabad Times features me in their Books section and we chit chat a bit! So does Mid Day – Their special Girl Scout review of the Book really warms my heart.
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More updates on my FB page - I respond to everyone. Also, am discovering the joys of Twitter and promise to follow you back if you follow @seasaga right now! 
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Phew that was quite a Sunday for me, while my Mother did sit pretty in her red nail paint! 
