Shashi - Untold Story Of A Mother

Dear Shashi,

When I met you, I saw in you a woman who was a caring mother, a perfect wife, a dutiful daughter-in-law and a self sufficient entrepreneur. But the one thing that was missing from your life was the respect that you deserved from your family.

Dressed conservatively and comfortably in your beautiful sarees, there you are, with a smile on your face, openness in your mind, grace in your heart, and dreams in your sparkly eyes. Dreams, not just for yourself, but your family too, that someday, they would respect your efforts and you'd stand for something more than just an embarrassment for them.⁣

How did you manage to devour such a level of criticism coming from the ones you cared the most for? I am curious to know how you give so much love in return to such heedlessness.

Unknowingly, they made you feel less and treated you based on your incapabilities rather than your character, your strengths or your behaviour. Time and again, your inability to speak proper english was made fun of and your ability to cook laddus was considered as the only thing you were best at.

You hit the rock bottom after one bad experience at a cafe because of your inability to speak english and then, you decided to learn english to let your family know that you were no less than them and that you could also fit in the world outside where people who spoke english were respected.

The journey wasn't easy but you were determined. During this journey, you became friends with Laurent and the others with whom you learnt and explored and felt free to express yourself. A time came when you chose to make laddus instead of taking exam and that spoke to me how much you valued your family, your duties over anything else.

You represent all those women who are believed to be born only to be a homemaker and to manage the ungrateful persons in it. Everyone thinks she's just a homemaker while she's much more beyond that word. If she steps ahead of that boundary to do something for herself, she is called 'selfish'. But the same rule is never applied to men.

"Mard khana banaye toh kala hai,
Aurat banaye toh uska farz hai?"

You have shown the mirror to all those teenagers who are resentful of their parents for being poor in English. It's not that they are less qualified, it's just that they took up responsibilities at a younger age and were devoid of opportunities.