God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers. It's this Sunday's favourite WhatsApp message, as it is Mother's Day the world over, but few know Rudyard Kipling had written these lines decades ago for his own mum Alice.
It's also a sentiment that rippled like guitar riffs across Morabadi grounds in the morning. As elderly morning walkers prepared to start another day with a brisk round, upcoming city-based singer Rohan Deo Pathak of Indian Idol fame greeted them.
Rohan asked the elderly morning walkers what they'd like to hear.
Though the salt-and-pepper brigade responded enthusiastically with " kuchh dilkhush gaane ho gaane (some touching songs, please)", they first asked for a song to remember the goddess on earth.
Rohan, strumming his guitar, sang soulfully: " Usko nahin dekha humnein kabhi, par iski zarurat kya hogi ai Ma, teri surat se alag bhagwan ki surat kya hogi (We haven't seen god but what is the need, mother, will the face of god be different from yours)."
The song made many nostalgic.
The elderly men who gather at Morabadi Children Park every day around 5.30am are mostly above 60 years or older. Most are retired professionals or businessmen. But, this song proved that age was no bar for these mama's boys.
Septuagenarian Kishori Lalji Choudhary fondly recalled how his mother used to scold him and shower her love upon him immediately afterwards.
"There can be substitutes for everything on earth but not mother. You know, we don't value Ma at all, we take every kind of liberty with her, we upset her and worry her and take her for granted. But, she adds the divine touch to our lives. I wish all children realise the value of their mothers in time," said the misty-eyed gentleman.
His friend Govind Sardar, said he was a fortunate 65-year-old because his mother Ishwar Kaul, 95, lives with him. "I feel so lucky, blessed and safe because my mother stays with me. The presence of a mother, I feel, works like a protective device against harm."
Sharing an anecdote from childhood, Sardar said: "My mother had never been to cinema halls in her childhood. I remember taking her to see the Rajendra Kumar-Vyjayanthimala starrer Saathi in 1968. The film had this song, Mera pyar bhi tu hai, yeh bahar bhi tu hai, sung by Mukesh and Suman Kalyanpur. I used to tease my mother by singing the song. I still do the same. I know she loves my teasing even today."
S.K. Agarwal, general manager (administration), BSNL, who in late fifties is the young lad of this walkers' group, said: "My mother Yashoda Devi is no more. But I feel her absence every day. When she was alive, my job took me to many cities while she preferred to stay at Banka, our native place. Now, I regret not spending enough quality time with her. I'd like to tell youngsters to spend quality time with parents no matter how busy you get, so that you can cherish those memories later."
Rohan sang a few more ditties, especially of Kishore Kumar, to lighten the mood. But all agreed it had been a morning walk to remember.
