♦ Apropos the article “Tribute to Mothers”, dated May 12, I would like to mention my two mothers. The first was my birth mother, Anjali Ghosal, who nurtured me for 20 years till I got married. She instilled in me the sense of etiquette, honesty and discipline.
But today I wish to write on my second mother, my mother-in-law, Arati Chatterjee, who was my mentor.
She was married off to a civil servant after passing her school finals in 1944. Between 1946 and 1955, she bore five children. And then began her real story.
In 1959, she enrolled herself for IA (Intermediate) at Kandi Raj College and cleared the exam. In 1962, she passed BA with honours in Bengali, as a private student. She then cleared Masters in Bengali (MA) and did her Bachelor of Training (BT). All this she did alongside managing a household with five children. And she didn’t stop at that.
Ma took up a job in a school while the family was posted in Diamond Harbour and continued her job even when her husband was transferred to Calcutta. She then took up a job in a New Barrackpore school and used to catch the early morning bus from Tollygunge to catch a train from Sealdah to reach there.
When I married into the family in 1975, she was head mistress of that high school and was still ferrying between Salt Lake and New Barrackpore.
Eventually she became a head examiner of the Board and then a scrutiniser of repute. She used to leave home at 5.30am and return at around 1.30pm. I used to sit waiting for her and we would have lunch together. Sometimes she would take me to Jaya cinema hall in Lake Town to watch matinee shows and we would be back before her eldest son, my husband, returned from work.
Ma would take me and my son to her school on special days and I received unconditional love from her. She taught me perseverance, devotion, judgment, crisis management… Subsequently two more bous came into our family and her love for them was no different. But being the first bou, I shared a special bond with her.
When she was 62, her children forced her to retire as she was getting physically weak. But idle life didn’t suit her and she developed dementia. She became paralytic and spent her last days confined in a wheelchair. With her demise, I lost an idol and a source of motivation.
Ma passed away in 2006 but I take the opportunity on Mothers’ Day to pray that her soul rests in peace and that she continues to protect us.
Tripti Chatterjee,
CD 158
♦ My mother Kanak Bose had got first division in her Matriculation but wasn’t allowed to study further. She was married off.
Ma was a very good singer too, trained in Rabindra-sangeet, classical and Shyamasangeet. Back in the day many girls would learn Shyamasangeet as prospective grooms would frequently request to hear this.
But after marriage, her in-laws didn’t warm up to the idea of a singing bou so she had to stop. Later she was very happy when I took up music and started learning from Suchitra Mitra. She was also very happy the day I enrolled at Lady Brabourne College with science.
My grandmother too was exemplary. The moment the telegram reached her informing her of my birth, she blew a conchshell. Neighbours assumed it was a boy and were later shocked to learn that she was celebrating the birth of a granddaughter. My thakuma prophesied to the neighbour that day: “Ei meye toder chheleder naak katbe.”
Decades later that neighbour came to me, crying and recounting this episode. Her sons had gone haywire while I had established myself as a doctor.
Nandita Ghosh,
FE Block
♦ These days it’s become fashionable to celebrate every other day — Women’s Day, Human Rights Day and I guess Mother’s Day is another such occasion.
But I think most people aren’t aware of Mother’s Day or do not understand its significance.
When so many elderly mothers aren’t even properly looked-after then what is the purpose of observing it in a colourful and gorgeous manner?
Parthasarathi Roy,
Purbachal Cluster XI
Fishing fun
♦ I read with great pleasure the article “Trouble in paradise” published on April 21 about the catch-and-release method of angling introduced these days.
I have fond childhood memories of going fishing with my brothers, cousins and friends. We would sit by the canal and fling our rods into the water. We’d catch small fish like tangra, bele and lata. It would be great fun.
But I understand the problems with excessive fishing and appreciate the catch-and-release format. Eco Park has taken the right step in hosting such competitions.
B.N. Bose,
Dum Dum Park
♦ The articles on fishing took me back to East Pakistan, where I was born. There was a big lake there opposite my school and people would sit for hours there, fishing.
I too liked fishing but if I caught a rohu, katla and mrigel, I’d play with it and release it in the water in a few minutes. I did it just for sport.
Although I don’t have the tenacity to sit for hours now, I like watching others angling. And I’m happy catch-and-release is gaining currency.
P.B. Saha,
Labony Estate
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