Indian Skimmer mom with baby/ still taken from a video clip
Looking at the lovely “mom” pics flooding my news feed since yesterday. Yes, everyday is mum’s day but it’s nice to have a day when we focus on pampering them and making them feel more special. Our mothers keep our lives and our homes perfectly calibrated and inspite of the nagging questions and the over-worrying, there’s no place in the world more warm and secure than mamma’s lap.
As a mom who has the ’empty nest syndrome’ staring at me, I’m panicky andpetrified for many months now. Impending exams, then results, then the admission process … ticking off each event means inching closer to the moment of dread. 12 years have flown past in the blink of an eye and while I did root her to the best of my ability, the thought that it’s now time to give her those wings to fly is heart-breaking. Inspite of all the assurances from many many mothers who have gone through this experience already, my heart remained inconsolable.
In the midst of all this heartache, destiny pulled me into working at a bird nesting site. On the field I watched parent birds make their nest and then lovingly and dutifully care for the eggs with clockwork precision. In the scorching temperatures the parents would wet their bellies and then cool the eggs. After the eggs hatched, they’d keep the babies cool in a similar manner. They’d feed them on the first couple of days with regurgitated fish and then with proper fish for the next couple of days or so. But then from the third day onwards they would also be seen coaxing the chicks to move out of the nest. So the chicks would make the effort and take a few steps out. In a few days they would cutely toddle on the sand and forage for small fish and eat independently. And then in another few days they would make their first attempts to fly.
It’s an oft-repeated experience for me that Nature orchestrates events perfectly in sync with the need of the hour. All our life-lessons are woven beautifully into nature. Letting-go is inevitable and giving our children their wings when it’s time for them to fly is the greatest enabler for them to soar towards their dreams. Head must rule heart … tears must give way to smiles as we see them off at the threshold of independence.
Nature is the universal Mother … nourishing and nurturing us even as we unthinkingly violate her … cutting, burning, razing and then turning a blind eye even as she bleeds. While venerating our moms with such awe, love and respect, let’s all put in a thought of concern and love for Nature, the universal mother, for if her survival is threatened, then there will be nothing left to celebrate.
Wishing all the beautiful and wonderful moms a happy happy mother’s day! May the joys of motherhood multiply endlessly … may the gifts of Nature flourish abundantly!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Panchami Manoo Ukil is a birdwatcher, photography enthusiast, random writer. She is an important member of https://www.facebook.com/The-Bhubaneswar-Bird-Walks-106774212843388/?fref=ts