MY MOTHERLY TALE

I am not a mother yet, but should that stop me from writing this blogpost? I guess not. Because maternal instincts are inherent to all females and obviously they tend to show, in many occasions. I have two elder sisters, infact quite older to me. I was always a kid pampered by not only my parents but sisters too. When my eldest sister, who was in the US then, declared of her pregnancy, a fang of jealousy had struck me! Being closest to her, I feared that a person closer to her than me was in the making, in her own womb. I was disturbed, but I never showed. After months when she was suppose to visit India with my little niece, I was scared of my emotions showing.

But as they say, man proposes and God disposes. My fears never came to be true. On the first sight of my niece, my hardness melted like ice. I immediately loved her. Care and maternal love took over me. Infant in the months that followed, my niece got closest to me, in comparison to all other family members. So this is me doing mother to my one year old niece, “Bristi” meaning rain in Bengali.

I was myself a kid then, going to school. But all of a sudden the entry of a person younger to me matured me. Her smile was like sunshine to us. A very happy kid and spread happiness around. It was the first time I knew, what it was doing mother! I also knew innocence therapy, as I call it. Like when a kid smiles innocently at you or giggles on his/her own, all melancholy sheds in seconds. A kid of her age at that time understands nothing of the world. She only knew when she was hungry, sleepy or may be ill at times. For all other times she would remain hale and hearty. As adults the main challenge is to know what they want, as words don’t come as aid to breach the communication barrier.

Bristi was a beautiful kid, though now she is quite a lovely teenager, but I love to remember her that way. I recollect, she would be very happy to see certain specific cartoons on the television, we had no idea whether she understood but enjoyed for sure. She would be annoyed to have the same food repeatedly, so my mother had to experiment within the boundaries of no spice, less oil etc. She loved kids; I and my father would take her out in a perambulator every evening to see the kids play. She looked visibly happy. And above all she needed a rejuvenating sleep each night, disturbed ones left her cranky. So my sister always ensured a good quality diaper to keep her dry all night. And see a happy baby each morning, smiling with life and innocence.

We had many moments together which I cherish, the time we played play dough, the time I hugged her tight and she giggled and the time they left for the US again. She cried, I don’t know if she knew about parting but she cried. We all cried. Now my sister stays in India, we meet and discuss those times. Times of how a teenager turned mother over night and her bonding with her beloved niece. So when I came across this topic posted on Indivine by pampers, I wanted to share my first taste of motherhood. I  loved the pampers video, shared in the beginning of this narrative. You can check their website using the following link:www.rewardme.in/tag/Pampers

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta