Note by the Author

Mothers have a special place in the lives of all children – rich or poor. For me too, mother enjoyed the exalted position. My mother took birth in a well-to-do family where she was pampered. As a resplendent girl, the fate would have her married to a rich person. On the contrary, my grandfather got her married to a simple, sober, honest yet a poor person. My father was very poor but that didn’t stop him from becoming a pious person.

One may think why have I decided to write a book on her tiled “ My mother, my hero”. It’s because she was an ordinary human being with some extraordinary dreams and vision to help the society.

My father died an untimely death in a road accident when Maa was barely forty. He had taken loans during his life to help others. All the burden of running a family of seven fell on her. We were so poor that my mother had to make a difficult decision of not bringing the corpse of my father back home when he died because we were surrounded by Kaubliwalahs. She explained with the move of eye to my elder brother to complete the cremation and come.

When I laid foundation of KIIT & KISS, that grew exponentially, she always insisted on development of our native village Kalarabanka. Instead of amassing wealth for the family or renovating our own cow-shed like home, she wanted me to invest in improving facilities in Kalarabanka. She has never asked me to buy her jewelery or a piece of land, or give money to other siblings but all that she asked for was to contribute to the motherland.

Whatever I have been achieving, it is because of her values that I have picked up while growing up. She groomed me to become what I am. My accomplishments are all dedicated to her. I am forever indebted to her and in her story lies the principles and ethos that she imbibed in me to become the person I am today.