On Mothers' Love in Modern Times
I have been looking at the transition of mothers over the past few decades.
The mothers of the 60s and 70s (Indian
mothers that is), used to dedicate all their time for the children. They were
full time home makers and their lives
were only for the children and the spouse. Their lives came to a
standstill, at the exit of the kids or spouse.
The mothers of this millennium have a much
harder time. Most Indian mothers( whom I know) are college educated. Most modern mothers now
work to run the family finances… a significant increasing number are being
single. In addition many have to drop off kids at school (cities have school
buses, but in towns, many still do) , help with all the extra curricular
activities in the evenings for the child ( music, dancing, martial arts,
special classes for instance).
Modern mothers manage their personal, professional and
maternal lives by themselves…. they seem to have undergone a radical change . On
the upside, most modern mothers are independent, know what they want of the
child and can take total care of the off springs by themselves…. But still
nurse the children with the same kind of love and concern, just as the earlier
mothers. On the downside, they seem more stressed as they have taken the
additional welcome role of providing bread for the family!
I often listen to young mothers singing
lullabies for their children ( in the surgical wards)….. many of the tunes are off
tune, off timing with unclear and meaningless words to me. But ( suprisingly) the little ones listen
carefully before dozing off to sleep…… And then the realization dawns on us
that the lullaby is not sung for the world… it is sung solely for the child for
whom it means the world! Such is the love and bonding between a mother and child.
Even when children grow up, they tend to
confide more in more in others, talk more to mothers and care more for mothers…. It is
not difficult to understand why! Mother’s love is always unique!
Maternal instinct is universal as it is also in non humans evidenced in our own loving pets as they can turn against us when we approach their newborns injudiciously, or even attack a larger animal with hostile intent, least caring for their own lives!
We learn so much about modern lab tests, scans and
genetics to study health and life…. But I wonder if we ever will decode mothers’
love for the children!
