A tribute to all mothers

Lalgoulian Thangluai *

The second Sunday of May is celebrated as Mother's Day every year all over the world. On this day millions of children around the world will definitely express their love and gratitude for the marvelous job the mothers have done so far for them. Indeed mothers deserve to be held in the highest esteem. In ancient Greece people celebrated annual spring festival to pay tribute to Rhea, the mother of many deities.

Ancient Romans also worship Cybere which was their great mother of gods. Christians observe Mother's Day on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honour of Mother Mary. The story of 'mothering Sunday' in England and the contributions made by Anna Jarvis in the United States are part of the usual historical background of the present day Mother's Day.

Instead of rewinding the chronology of Mother's Day, it would be rather imperative to remind ourselves of how mothers in our strife-torn State (Manipur) cope with countless traumas, anxieties and fears for the sake of their sons and daughters. It would not be an exaggerations to say that mothers in our State are few rare breeds among their own mate.

We indeed feel extremely fortunate to have them as mothers. Here we can even count on the British to indicate our claims. The mighty British Empire have got the taste of our mother's valour during the historic Nupilal period. Today the blood of those courageous mothers continues to flow into the veins of our present day mothers also. The Meira Paibi movement, the Nisha Bandh movement and women's movement against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 are a proof of this.

Our mothers always seem to have the most appropriate answer for each eventualities that crop up in our society from time to time. And every time they act, they become a trendsetters.

Moving away from this scene of common action, to their respective households, their roles are equally praiseworthy. Though ours is essentially a Patriarchal society, there are many instances in which our mothers have played crucial roles within our families. Many inept fathers meekly take the backseat and mothers occupy the driver's seat in maintaining the family affairs. This situation is more true in our rural areas which fall under the shadow of illiteracy, ignorance and superstiton. Still then our mothers in those areas struggle hard to feed and clothe families.

The very unfortunate fact that we are living in a conflict-ridden State has done a great harm especially to our innocent mothers. Today our society is flooded with fake encounter, pseudo-nationalist, scoundrel netas and bureaucrats, and predators in the garb of protector. These are the elements which compel our beloved mothers to stay ever vigilant.

Mothers are most concerned for the safety and well being of their children. They will not be mentally at rest, until their sons or daughters return home safe and sound after venturing out of their home.

However, in spite of all these efforts, our patriarchal social set-up has done a grievous wrong to our mothers. Even though mothers have gigantically contributed towards the all-round development of our society, they are still denied their rightful place under the Sun. This is evident from the fact that the United Nation's theme for this year's Women's Day (8th March) is: 'equal right, equal opportunities and progress for all'.

What is extremely perplexing is the fact that rise in the literacy rate, political empowerment of women in the Panchayats and Municipalities could not ametrorate the condition of women in our societies. Men by and large are considered no longer chivalrous.

Harassment by in-law-over dowry matters, domestic threat and violence against women, rape and murder continue to haunt the collective conscience of our societies.

In spite of all these messy affairs, mothers will always be mothers no matter what. They will continue to impart virtues to their children, protect them from all dangers, act against injustices and fight evils.

While our mothers with their sarong firmly girded remain indomitable and indefatigable against all odds, let every nook and corner of our State reverberate with the voice — 'We Adore You O Mothers', on 9th May, 2010.