Greetings On Mother's Day!

'll Celebrate Instead of Cry Another Mother's Day is here, And I still miss having you near. You were the best mom you could be, And I never once doubted your love for me. I could spend each Mother's Day in sorrow, Crying and wishing you were here, But instead I choose to celebrate your life, A life I still hold so dear. I know you'd rather see me smile Than stand here with tears in my eyes. So I'll do my best to honor your memory, And you'll live on as long as I am alive. On a personal note, greeting my great Beji, on Mother’s Day, cherishing her ever cheering memory:

Lahore

As much my father liked to be left alone with his books, my mother loved to be in the midst of family members and her friends, both big in numbers. Her circle of friends spread from the elite of the society to its weakest sections, the later being her weakness. She not only liked their company better, but also felt happy caring for them. Her greatest happiness was hosting guests, friends and relatives, some coming from other cities and overstaying for weeks to enjoy her hospitality. A true believer in the age-old saying that God visited us disguised as a guest, she kept the house always open for everyone to enjoy its hospitality.

New Delhi

My wife was my mother's best friend after our marriage, and a true follower of the traditions my mother believed in. Between the two of them, they had made the house look like a marriage home, where festivities and feeding never ended. There was hardly a day when God had not visited our house. Our open house always had a guest, invited or not. Some guests frankly admitted that they found peace in our house whenever they had a disturbed mind and came just to enjoy the festive atmosphere here when the going was far from good at their place. And mother reciprocated by giving such guests the special treatment that they remember all their life. On Sundays specially, it was always a full house. We had to come prepared at the breakfast table with information on our friends coming over to spend the weekend with us, as she must plan the menu for their lavish lunch. And if by any chance we did not expect any guests some Sunday, we must come to the table with planned program of full day outing on the day, a substitute for the Sunday guests. We really had a wonderful time with mother around.

Open House

During her last days when doctors had given up on her cancer, mother continued to have her high spirits intact. She asked me to bring packets of the finest sweets, and gave them to doctors, nurses and the hospital staff, as a parting gift from a grateful patient, whom they had taken care of so well. They had tears in their eyes, but smiled all the same, as they had never seen anyone celebrating life so beautifully till the end. Before she breathed her last, she kept holding my wife's hand and spoke the last words, “I may not come back home with you, but promise you will continue to keep the house always open for everyone to enjoy its hospitality.”

She passed away 50 years ago, but we always feel her presence in our house, which we have tried to keep as open as she desired in her  last wish.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing mothers out here!