Mom Knows Everything

For a child, the parents mean everything in the world, whether it is the kid of the animal or human being. My mom asked my maid’s daughter once that whether she will continue her school after tenth or not. She said, “Didi, in my family only I studied so far, my grandfather studied till fifth and my father did not study because grandfather could not afford. But didi, you know my dad is very intelligent, he is the most intelligent person in the world. He does plus and minus operation so fast, faster than us.” There was so much innocence, love and respect in what she felt for her father. He might mean nothing for others but for her, he was the hero.

I got my first watch, a titan sonata, in class 8th, I was very happy. I tied it in my hand in the shop itself and removed it from my hand only before sleeping when mom asked me. I opened it and kept under my pillow and slept off. Next day was holiday so need not go to school so there was no question of wearing the watch. I woke up early in morning and thought to wear the watch but then thought that everyone will laugh. If anyone asks me why I am wearing the watch, what will I tell then? I did not want anyone to know my curiosity. After sometime one aunty came home, mom and she were talking standing near the door. I thought that if I go to take bath then I can just wear the watch, no one can say anything and no one will ask me anything. So I told mom that I am going to take bath. Mom laughed and told me to go and told to that aunty, “yesterday we got watch for her, so she is going for bath so soon so that she can wear the watch”. I was amazed, how she came to know this.

I am a foodie from childhood. I can think of food whole day, I dream of food.  I love mangoes. In our home it was a trend, in summer season after dinner mom will cut two mangoes and four of us used to have it. We were in my grand mom’s house and my uncle got big boxes of alphonso mangoes. We all the kids had finished our dinner and went to sleep then I heard my uncle telling my mom to cut mangoes for everyone. I heard this and could not resist, smell of mangoes was tempting me so much that I got up from the bed and went to my mom and sat beside her. Uncle asked me whether I was fine because I got up from sleep, mom looked at me and smiled and said, “She has come to have mango”. I smiled and she gave me to eat. Till now when I am 27, whenever my mom prepares omlette, I take commission from dad for getting his plate from kitchen to his hand. When they get biryani from outside they miss me because when I was at home and dad used to get biryani at home, I will leave everything behind and take a plate and have the biryani. Both of them will have and little will be left always and they will tell me that my portion is left.

In childhood I hated going to vegetable market but loved the ride from home to market in scooter with Tusharika. There was a small shop in that market which was famous for Pattis and ice cream. Throughout the way I and tusharika talked about which ice cream we like and which one, our friend had recently, which is tasty and yummy and which is not. We were indirectly telling dad that we wanted ice creams but pretended as if we are modest and not asking for anything. We infact told dad, “We are not asking for ice creams we are talking just like that”. And when we reached there, dad made us sit in the shop and buy Pattis and ice cream and give us and in the meantime he finished the shopping. After coming home, we informed mom clearly that dad fed us ice cream, we ourselves did not ask for that.

In the 90s 1 or 2 rupees mattered a lot. Every Sunday, breakfast was brought from outside and I went with dad to bring those. And I always asked for that free chutney which the shopkeeper gives with the snack. If someone forgets also I will remind the person and ask him for the “muft ki chutney”. Everyone named me “muft ki chutney” after that. For the change what was returned back, 1 or 2 rupees, I used to ask dad whether he checked that the coin given is of one rupee or two rupees. 

Mother is the angel; she is the God’s supreme gift to the child. She is the only one in the world who you can blindly trust. She can understand the tears behind your smile , she knows why you are crying, why you are happy, when you want her to be at your side, when you are telling lie to her, she knows what is going on your mind and heart, she knows and understands your every movement, your every wish. She is simply great.

I just love these childhood memories :-)