Letters

I am humbled by many letters commenting on the Middle -Mother published few days ago in the esteemed columns of The Tribune. True, all living beings identify and empathise with the feelings one has for one's Mother.

I am reproducing the letters as gratitude to the writer's who spared time to read and write. These were first printed in the esteemed Letters to The Editor column of The Tribune.

April 2, 2011

Jupinderjit Singh’s middle “Mother” (March 30) was very touching. It was actually a sincere prayer for the long life of all mothers. Motherhood indeed is a deification of womanhood. A Jewish proverb says that God could not be everywhere and, therefore, He made mothers.

Literature of English and other languages is replete with eulogies about mother’s love and her struggle for children. Maxim Gorky’s novel “Mother” has become a classic. Dozens of Punjabi folk singers have sung in praise of mothers.

O.P.CHAWLA, Panchkula


Hindi film lyrics are also not lagging behind. I am reminded of the “Daadi Maa” (1966) film song Usko nahi dekha ham ne kabhi par is ki zarurat kya hogi, Ai maa teri surat se alag bhagwan ki surat kya hogi. Shashi Kapoor’s famous dialogue in “Deewar” Merey paas maa hai reverberated in the Oscar Award ceremony when AR Rehman, while receiving the award for Slumdog Millionaire, referred to it in reverence to his own mother.

Urdu poetry abounds in couplets glorifying mother. I will quote only one of Munawar Rana: Kisi ko ghar mila hisey mein yaan koyi dukan aayi, mai ghar mein sabh se chhota tha, merey hisey mein maa aayi. Jupinderjit’s terror of thinking of home without mother is well-reflected in Hawthorne’s line: “What is home without a mother?” May all mothers, including the writer’s and mine, live long, healthy and gratifying lives!

JASWANT SINGH GANDAM, Phagwara

II

The middle left me in tears. It seemed as if my own thoughts have been printed on paper. My mother is also 65 years old now. I have also harboured a fear of losing her since my early childhood. I remember my weekly homecomings to Ropar while staying in hostel at DAV College, Chandigarh, during the mid-eighties. The first thing my eyes searched on reaching home was my mother. On seeing her only, I could feel comfortable.

No doubt, mother is the best gift of God to mankind. Without mother we are not there. She brings us to life, rears us with all her might, keeps awake for countless nights during our infancy. Later on as children we throw tantrums to extract favours from her. Being scared of our dad, we normally turn to our mother for approval for going on a school trip or for extra pocket money or for going to a movie.

Our mother spends the best years of her life, her youth, in our upbringing. After having her toil all these years, when we are grown up and should be around to look after her, we leave for greener pastures. This only for a few more rupees and a good lifestyle! Our mother, by now beset with a weak eyesight, trembling hands or arthritic joints, keeps her eyes on the door, waiting for her son to come to her and spend a few moments with her, having never asked anything in return for all her life-long labour.

A mother’s most cherished dream is to have a beautiful, caring bride for her son. But in some cases, her dreams go awry when the bride fails to see a mother in her mother-in-law. In most cases, people come to know the importance of mother after she is gone forever. We are very lucky if our mother is with us till we are grown up. We should cherish our mother and do our best to put a smile on her face in her twilight years. In my view, service to a mother is better than bowing before God a thousand times because she is the living incarnation of God Himself!

BHUSHAN CHANDER JINDAL,Jalandhar

III

The middle on mother was very touching. In these days I am also experiencing the same. My mother is 95 years old and she is helplessly withering away. After retirement I am devoting full time to look after her. But there are many who ignore their mother in her sunset years.

April 5, 2011

Mother’s presence

The middle “Mother”(Mar 30) by Jupinderjit Singh was emotional and interesting. The writer has honestly and in a simple way tried to project his genuine feelings that can be shared by us all. But the bitter truth is that the inevitable reality of death has to be faced by everyone one day. The circle of life moves on. The fear of losing our dear ones continuously looms large on the mind.

It is only the faith in the Almighty that allows us the power to face various ups and downs and to overcome the loss of our dear ones. I lost my mother in the year 2003. More than seven years have passed and the entire family has learnt to live ‘with her sans her.’ Her memories and her catch phrases have become a part of our day-to-day living.

SANJEEV TRIKHA, Fatehabad

April 7, 2011

Loss of mother

Jupinderjit Singh’s middle “Mother” (Mar 30) was touching. I join him in wishing long life for all the mothers. The pain and agony one goes through at the loss of one’s mother is insurmountable. Life can never be the same again because a vacuum created with the loss of mother can never be filled.

Dr PREMILA VERMA, Chandigarh

April 12, 2011

Ode to mother

The middle “Mother”(Mar 30) by Jupinderjit Singh, was a heart rending tribute of a son to his ailing mother. The word mother is a world in itself. Mother epitomises sacrifices and selfless affection. We should be thankful to our mother, who kept us safe in her womb and gave us an opportunity to enjoy the worldly pleasures. The first thing a new born tastes, is “breast feed” that’s Doodh ka Karj” which no one can pay back.

The first word a child mumbles is “Maa”. That’s why the word ‘Mother-tongue”. A mother is her child’s best guide. To every mother her children are the best and most precious jewels in the world. Everything has a substitute except mother – “Hai kaun si woh cheej jo yhaan nahin milti, Sab kuch mil jaata hai lekin haan, maa nahin milti”. Alas, most of us appreciate mother’s love only, after the mother is gone.

HARBANS SINGH, Ambala

April 21
The middle “Mother” by Jupinderjit Singh (Mar 30) was touching and emotional. There were many letters in response to it and all profusely praising the loving role of a mother. And if that was not enough there was another emotion-packed middle “Mothers are special”. Unfortunately, we have some un-motherly mothers as well.

For example, we have “merciless” mothers who readily kill their unborn daughters, or “unloving” mothers who abandon their small children or “unworthy” mothers who mutely join in honour-killings or “selfish” mothers who fearing loss of hold over their newly wedded sons, do not let the young couple come closer. They should change and not defame the good name of a mother.

Wg-Cdr C.L. SEHGAL (retd.) Jalandhar