Why every day should be Mother’s Day

Every morning her chirpy voice wakes me up. When I laze a bit and refuse to get out of bed, she calmly coaxes me with a soothing kiss on my forehead. Though I’m a grown-up man now but for my mother, I’m still a child.

Throughout the vicissitudes of life, my mother has stood by me and been a friend, philosopher and guide. They say children follow in the footsteps of their elders and imbibe the same set of values. Respect for parents is one value I’ve got in my genes. From childhood, I observed that my father would touch the feet of my grandmother every morning and seek her blessings for the day. The pious practice continued till the last breath of my grandmother. I inherited the tradition and not a single day passes when I don’t touch the feet of my mother.

Like all Indian mothers, my mom is also a paragon of sublime sacrifices. She is the first to wake up in the family. She slips out of bed much before dawn. Her day begins with a visit to the nearby temple. Having taken her bath, she is ready like a soldier to hold the family fort. When my father and siblings lie snuggled in their cozy quilts in the bone-chilling winter months, my mother dips her age-withered hands in the freezing water to do the laundry of the whole family.

As we get ready to leave for our respective workplaces, we are served breakfast on the dining table. She understands the likes and dislikes of each one in the family. Thus, we get to eat what satisfies our finicky palates. With no grimace on her face, I often observe her washing the utensils and mopping the floor. Moved by her gruelling domestic drudgery, whenever I step forward to lend a helping hand, she just cuts me off by saying that I must have had a hectic day in college. But what about the back-breaking tiring times she deals with every day at home?

At our workplaces, we have the luxury of some time off. Leave from work is enough to recharge us for the busy routine in office. But what about the office of my mother? She gets no holiday. She is on duty round the clock.

Whenever any of us has a bout of sickness, an immediate sick leave is availed to recuperate and relax at home. But what about the self-employed mother at home who never seeks any leave howsoever sick she may be. And when at the end of every month our cell phones delightfully beam with salary messages, my mother receives no such honorarium.

What perturbs me at the moment is that when the so-called working members of our families should be grateful enough to their dedicated homemaker mothers, they simply neglect their selfless, unstinting services. In fact, it is our mothers who do the best job in the world without expecting any reward.

Thus, not a single day but every day should be celebrated as Mother’s Day in the Indian context.

OUR MOTHERS DO THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD WITHOUT EXPECTING ANY REWARD. YET, WE NEGLECT THEIR SELFLESS, UNSTINTING SERVICES