Every Indian is proud of our culture and tradition. Just as religion plays a vital role in the lives of Indians, so do emotions, sentiments and superstitions. India has the sole credit of running a multi crore industry, purely based on people's sentiments and superstitions. What I refer here is the millions of soothsayers, astrologers and lucky gems sellers that our nation is proud of. We have distinct sentiments covering different categories. Father sentiment, mother sentiment, sister sentiment, mother-in-law sentiment, Thaali sentiment are to name a few... Every family is entwined by sentiments and emotions. More the members in the family even more are the sentiments and emotions that prevail in it.
Every child, right from its birth, is coached on the traditional views and customs that the family has inherited from the past. Creating in a child an emotional bond with the family members is one of the important tasks of parenting. India tradition is well-known for cocooning a child till the age of 25. Every aspect of life is spoon fed. In fact, a child is tailor made by the parent. A child's ambition, lifestyle, economic welfare, etc are mostly decided by the parents. Settling the child with the right life partner, with the right job and with the right economic prospect is commonly viewed as the completion of parenthood in our tradition bound society. All is well. I don't find fault with all this. But the irony is, India is also the nation, wherein there exists numerous number of old age homes.
Old age homes in foreign countries is an accepted phenomena. The parents do not attach as much traditional perspectives to parenting abroad. A child on reaching maturity is completely left free to mould their lives, pursue their interests and choose a style of life that fits them. The youth commonly live away from their parents in pursuit of their own goals. But in a country, where the youth mostly are tailor cut by their parents, the increase in old-age homes is a disturbing phenomena. How do these spoonfed organisms that depend on their parents for life's decision arrive at an unanimous decision of deserting their parents? There seems to exist somewhere a great fissure between parents and children in their perspectives and attitude towards life.
I wish to narrate a real life incident that I grew up hearing numerous times. It is the story of one such tailor made child. A couple had five children, of which only three survive now. The man was a tailor (this might be the reason, why I have used the word tailor many times here) and he found it very difficult to make the ends meet. However, he succeeded in giving all the children the basic education. But the couple imparted enough religious and moral education to the children. However, fate scripted a different story for the family.
The eldest son turned a spendthirft and a gambler. He did nothing to secure the lives of his three female children. The entire family stood on the roots of his wife and later on the earnings of the children. He passed away having caused enough burden to the family.
The second son turned an epitome of selfishness. He would not even part with the sweet, which he bought for his wife, with the other members of the family. Even as a youth, he would not allow his brothers touch his cycle and now he does not allow anyone to use his TVS Excel. He is habituated to thinking for himself and in his world there always existed only three members. His wife, his son and him. I hear at times he does not even take into count his daughter - in - law.
The fourth son was a weakling. His entire life was marred by sicknesses. He was and is jobless. The entire family was on the shoulders of his teacher wife. She shed her blood in bringing up all her three children to good positions. Even today she is the prime root of the family. it is around her the lives of every member of the family revolves.
The fifth son made a wrong choice of life partner. Of course, he was a victim of wrong love and ended his life at an early age, leaving behind a male issue. The lady married again and caused chaos both in her life and the life of his son.
The old man passed away and the old lady was completely dependent on the third son for both economic and moral support. For the third son is the only one, who was cut of a different cloth when compared to his siblings. He got a decent and secured job in finance sector. The hopes of the old lady revolved around him. He was looked up on as a saviour of the family. The old lady, in a way, was very partial in her dealings with this third and loved son. When the other siblings were served vegetables for lunch, the third son would get an egg as special offering as the burden of the family was on him.
Days passed and the day of his marriage arrived and that turned the tables on the entire family. The third son got a wife that no man in the entire world would ever wish to get. She succeeded in ripping the entire family apart with her seductive and arrogant ways. I won't call him henpecked but he is the victim of life situations. Her first target was to wield the son away from his mother and she succeeded in it even at a very early stage of her marriage life.
Now the old lady was tossed by every son. The sons, except the third, were either economically unworthy or did not have the mind to take care of the old lady. She wandered as the pendulum in the clock not finding a permanent place to spend her life's end. Finally, she was given refuge by the wife of her fourth son, who has been jobless throughout his life. Being a teacher, may be the lady had the humaneness which the other daughter-in-laws did not possess. The old lady has been residing in her house for the past 30 years. Now the old lady is no more a refugee there but she is the boss. She makes it a point to make her daughter-in-law run not less than 100 errands for her. The pity is that teacher herself have her own grandchildren but she is still a slave to her mother-in-law.
But at the back of her heart, the old lady, who is nearing her end, longs for the love of her children. In her recent visit to the house of her second son, it was told on her face that they don't want her there. Now she appears a pest to her children. Her third and beloved son never calls her but he sends Rs. 1000 every month. In past, he used to write a few lines in the message column of the money order. The old lady found comfort in those words. But after his retirement, may be the wife does not give him permission to come out, even the message column is left blank. No calls, no letters, no love, no words of comfort even when the old lady was in and out of her death bed several times in the recent past....
The only instrument that helps the old lady believe that her beloved son is alive is the monthly arrival of that money order. The mother, who cared him much against the wishes of her other children, IS TODAY LEFT TO LIVE ON THOSE 1000 RUPEES notes....
Even if she touches the rupee note thousand times, can she feel in it the love of her son.....???!!! But even now her third son is her best son and she despises her grand children, who speak ill of her third son.
It is just the life of one mother and the nation has numerous tales as this.....
Can we EVERY PAY A PRICE FOR MOTHER'S LOVE?
The eldest son turned a spendthirft and a gambler. He did nothing to secure the lives of his three female children. The entire family stood on the roots of his wife and later on the earnings of the children. He passed away having caused enough burden to the family.
The second son turned an epitome of selfishness. He would not even part with the sweet, which he bought for his wife, with the other members of the family. Even as a youth, he would not allow his brothers touch his cycle and now he does not allow anyone to use his TVS Excel. He is habituated to thinking for himself and in his world there always existed only three members. His wife, his son and him. I hear at times he does not even take into count his daughter - in - law.
The fourth son was a weakling. His entire life was marred by sicknesses. He was and is jobless. The entire family was on the shoulders of his teacher wife. She shed her blood in bringing up all her three children to good positions. Even today she is the prime root of the family. it is around her the lives of every member of the family revolves.
The fifth son made a wrong choice of life partner. Of course, he was a victim of wrong love and ended his life at an early age, leaving behind a male issue. The lady married again and caused chaos both in her life and the life of his son.
The old man passed away and the old lady was completely dependent on the third son for both economic and moral support. For the third son is the only one, who was cut of a different cloth when compared to his siblings. He got a decent and secured job in finance sector. The hopes of the old lady revolved around him. He was looked up on as a saviour of the family. The old lady, in a way, was very partial in her dealings with this third and loved son. When the other siblings were served vegetables for lunch, the third son would get an egg as special offering as the burden of the family was on him.
Days passed and the day of his marriage arrived and that turned the tables on the entire family. The third son got a wife that no man in the entire world would ever wish to get. She succeeded in ripping the entire family apart with her seductive and arrogant ways. I won't call him henpecked but he is the victim of life situations. Her first target was to wield the son away from his mother and she succeeded in it even at a very early stage of her marriage life.
Now the old lady was tossed by every son. The sons, except the third, were either economically unworthy or did not have the mind to take care of the old lady. She wandered as the pendulum in the clock not finding a permanent place to spend her life's end. Finally, she was given refuge by the wife of her fourth son, who has been jobless throughout his life. Being a teacher, may be the lady had the humaneness which the other daughter-in-laws did not possess. The old lady has been residing in her house for the past 30 years. Now the old lady is no more a refugee there but she is the boss. She makes it a point to make her daughter-in-law run not less than 100 errands for her. The pity is that teacher herself have her own grandchildren but she is still a slave to her mother-in-law.
But at the back of her heart, the old lady, who is nearing her end, longs for the love of her children. In her recent visit to the house of her second son, it was told on her face that they don't want her there. Now she appears a pest to her children. Her third and beloved son never calls her but he sends Rs. 1000 every month. In past, he used to write a few lines in the message column of the money order. The old lady found comfort in those words. But after his retirement, may be the wife does not give him permission to come out, even the message column is left blank. No calls, no letters, no love, no words of comfort even when the old lady was in and out of her death bed several times in the recent past....
The only instrument that helps the old lady believe that her beloved son is alive is the monthly arrival of that money order. The mother, who cared him much against the wishes of her other children, IS TODAY LEFT TO LIVE ON THOSE 1000 RUPEES notes....
Even if she touches the rupee note thousand times, can she feel in it the love of her son.....???!!! But even now her third son is her best son and she despises her grand children, who speak ill of her third son.
It is just the life of one mother and the nation has numerous tales as this.....
Can we EVERY PAY A PRICE FOR MOTHER'S LOVE?
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