Mere paas Maa hai…

Rajan Kapoor  

THE popular dialogue — Mere paas Maa hai — used by various television channels to pay homage to Shashi Kapoor, made me ponder over the statement uttered by the star in the film Deewar. What made film buffs and ordinary people connect and identify themselves so strongly with the dialogue? Was it the charisma of Shashi Kapoor, or his choked voice that lent an emotional appeal to the dialogue? Was it the magic of the pen? Was the scene so gripping  that it left the audience spellbound? I concluded that it was ‘Maa’ that catapulted it to the top of the popularity chart.

 The dialogue reinforces the centuries-old fact that a mother is an embodiment of love, compassion, kindness and sacrifice. She inculcates a value system in her kids, which is based on truth and justice. The value system has magical powers that can transform an ordinary human being into a superman. History is awash with such brilliant tales. Mahatma Gandhi imbibed from his mother the indomitable spirit to fight till the end.   This quality stood him in good stead and also gave him the much-needed strength to take on the might of the British. His struggle saw many ups and downs, but he kept moving on his path. His efforts bore positive results.  

Bhagat Puran Singh, who spent his life working for the marginalised, was pushed into serving destitutes by his mother. She extracted a promise from him that he would never flinch from serving the poor and would put all resources in his command to apply a balm of love and compassion on those who had been neglected by society.  Stirred by the emotional appeal of his mother, he passionately put his body and soul in the service of the poor and opened a pingalwara (a house for the disabled) in Amritsar.

Abdul Sattar Edhi, who changed the face of welfare services in Pakistan, was also motivated by his mother.  When he was a schoolboy, he was instructed by his mother to share half of his pocket money with a  poor classmate. He was also made to deliver packets of fruits and laddoos to houses of the poor during festivals. And when on one occasion, Edhi sustained  injuries while shielding an aged leper from the punches of street urchins, his mother lavishly praised him for standing up for a hapless soul. This metamorphosed a simple soul into a messiah of the poor. 

Alas! mothers are being ill-treated these days. Recently, a son pushed his ailing mother to her death from the terrace. A mother is an ambassador of God. Prophet Muhammad rightly said: Heaven lies under the feet of your mother. 

We must remember these words if we wish to seek entry into heaven. A mother’s love is like no other. Value her, while there is still time.