Neelimarani: My Mother, My Hero

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 train accident when Maa was barely forty. My father helped everyone in the village, sponsored education of the needy and gifted goodies to the village children despite being a petty worker in a big organization. He never thought twice about spending on others, even if he didn’t have money for his family of eight people. At times, he took hand loans to help people in need.

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. (Money-lenders from Afghanistan) She explained with the move of eye to my elder brother to complete the cremation and come. From there on, she has boldly brought up her seven children facing all struggles single-handedly. This herculean task can not be described in words.

When I laid the foundation of KIIT & KISS, that went on to grow 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.

Women’s power helps in the holistic development of a nation and society. If importance is given to women’s empowerment, the nation and society can develop. The book is all about women’s power to bring in transformation. The main protagonist of the book is a woman, my hero mother.

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.