As you know it’s Mother’s Day, so we’re celebrating with a Sunday special blog post featuring Team MissMalini, some of our favourite guest bloggers – AND OUR MOMS! I asked each of my bloggers to send me a photo of themselves with their moms and for their moms to share a cute childhood memory of theirs so you get to know the little mischief brewing inside my spectacular team! Plus this way you get to share your love with the mummies who made magic (what up Kajol whirlpool ad reference!)
PS. The ones who are mummies too, I asked to share what it’s like to be a mom themselves so the next generation gets their first media mention right here on MissMalini.com! xoxo
MissMalini
Manjulika Agarwal: Although painfully shy, my Little MissMalini, or Mallo Rani as I used to call her, never failed to charm. She loved parties, although held back on the socialising from behind safe quarters usually clasping my pallu…. and taking a sneak peak at the world beyond. When approached by strangers, looking to pinch those chubby cheeks and kuchi kuu with her – she would retreat even further within my folds… and need to be coaxed or bribed to re-emerge… I always worried about her being able to socialise and interact with the world at large…
Were my fears unfounded or what! My amazing little daughter has blossomed into a beautiful, confident, gregarious, sociable and utterly loveable young person…. I couldn’t be prouder of her achievements – she makes my heart swell with pride and love; she radiates warmth and love and is a beacon offering warmth and hospitality. So reminiscent of how my mother was – always ready to party, open house any time of the day or night and always ready to share a word of wisdom or offer a shoulder to cry on. Just rock solid.
I love you Mallo – for me you will always be my little girl… and although you have long left the folds of my pallu, you are deeply entrenched in my heart… I love you dearly and thank you for everything you do, to put a smile on my face and spread happiness all around.
MissMalini: What can I say? My mom’s a total rockstar. She’s 75 but obviously has some VIP access to the fountain of youth! I will always remember my mummy encouraging me to live my dreams and fulfill every possible creative urge. She took me to bharatanatyam classes in Greece and piano lessons too and never flinched when I said I wanted to dance professionally during college. In fact she’d be right up there in the front row with a video camera beaming “meri beti, meri beti!” to the point that a lot of other people would get cropped out of the frame! She even planted the seed of radio stardom and suggested I audition for All India Radio, a dream that came true in Bombay many years later! She’s always supported my choices and taught me to love loyally and be loved in return. She religiously comments on all my Facebook pictures and shares them on her wall everyday. My mom is a fireball of love and emotion and I’m everything I am because of her unconditional love and support. I love you momalicious, Happy Mother’s Day!
PS. Props to my big sister Shalini (yes, rhyming names haha) who has always been my mommy # 2 and treated me like her little doll growing up. I know it doesn’t look like it, but we’re 12 years apart and she still gets carded at clubs sometimes. I love her to bits and she has always been my rock, support and giggle partner and now she has two munchkins of her own – but I know I will still always be munchkin # 1! I love you didi! <3
Nowshad Rizwanullah
Nasrin Rizwanullah: As a baby, Nowshad was larger than usual. Strangely enough, as he grew he developed the habit of being a very fussy and poor eater. I remember being very worried about his health, so much so that I would travel to his elementary school in Geneva at lunchtime every day to make sure that he was eating properly. I also remember that when I used to pick him up once the school day was over, I was always approached by teachers and other mothers telling me that he was a very good student, especially in maths. At the time, I thought these comments were just part of polite conversation and that they were just being nice for the sake of it. The first time I remember truly realizing his above average intellect was when he received recognition from his Canadian middle school for being in the top 25% of all students in Canada in a standardized math test. It is a very special memory for me.
It was a surprise to me that this boy who would barely eat as a young child would eventually grow up to be 6’2 tall! But I was not surprised to see him develop into a very good student and do so well with his advanced studies. He moved away from home at 15 to attend boarding school in Canada, so much of his achievements can be attributed to his own personal determination and sense of responsibility. I am very proud of that.
Before he moved away from home, I remember he was a very popular 14 year old boy among his classmates in Tehran and even among the girls! He was always mindful to keep his curfew when he went outside with his friends. I remember one night when he was late to return home. As I waited for him by the window, I saw him approach the house running as fast as he could to the door. He was so worried about being late. To this day, I always consider him to be a thoughtful and dutiful son.
Nowshad Rizwanullah: My mother must be Superwoman. She fights fires, scales mountains and battles dragons. And that’s on an easy day. From my earliest memories, I’ve seen mom selflessly giving to others – to three demanding sons, a hardworking husband, an extended family that stretches around the world, and to the countless others in need she’s come across in a life spent criss-crossing the globe. Thank you mom for always putting us first. You’ve never asked for anything in return but I hope some day we can give back to you as richly as you have given to us. With lots of love, Happy Mother’s Day!
Mike Melli
Mike Melli: So apparently one of my mom’s favorite memories was when me and my brother got into her cooking supplies and emptied out a huge bottle of olive oil and a package of flour all over the kitchen floor. She said we looked like slippery ghosts.
Thing I love most about my mom is her sense of empathy and her caring for other people. I definitely try to follow her example!
Mom, you are the shiniest, happiest heart on this planet. Your giggles are infectious and your smile melts hearts. You inspire me on a daily basis to be a better version of myself and, above all, do everything with love. I am truly blessed to be born to such an incredible woman. Thank you for all you do, Mom. I love you!
Rashmi Daryanani
Kavita Daryanani: My mom used to tell me that when I become a mother I would understand what a mother’s love for her child is. I went through a lot of pain giving birth to my child and was in labour for so many hours that all I wanted to do was just get over it and go to sleep (by the way I love my sleep and was in labour at night). When Rashmi was born and brought to me, I was wonderstruck; no words could describe the bond that I felt the minute I saw her… a little baby bundle with a mop of jet black hair… can never forget how she looked. I watched her the whole night without blinking my eyes… she took my breath away, and it was the only time I never slept for the whole night.
How can one write of a life long of love in a few words and paragraphs? Rashmi was always a soft spoken child… a tiny little girl with soft curls looking upto me with her innocent eyes and I would melt. Rather, every one at home would and we really spoiled her. My brother-in-law would let her drink coke with breakfast while my sister-in-law would leave everything just to give her what she wanted. Normally a child could really go out of hand with so much of love and affection, but it was a real joy for me to see that this never affected her. She has always been kind and soft with her thoughts and she would always love to share whatever she had.
I remember the day my husband was teaching her how to write an essay; she was 5 years, sitting on a baby chair looking at him intensely (now I can see that she learnt her lesson well). Every time, she would come up with such lovely essays that would bring a smile. But my favourite was when she was asked to write what she wanted to become when she grew up. I do not remember the full write-up, but what touched me the most was that she wrote towards the end that when she grew up she wanted to be a good human being, and even if it was a pinprick she would still feel she made a difference in this world. This brought tears to my eyes and I had the Kajol Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham moment – “Mera bacha…!”
I always loved watching movies and my all time favourite actor was Shah Rukh Khan, and it thrilled me to bits to see Rashmi have the same passion. She was totally bowled over by SRK in DDLJ. Since we didn’t live in India and used to visit only once every 2-3 years, seeing SRK’s picture used to be a novelty for her. Once, while crossing the road, Rashmi saw a hoarding of a SRK film and she started screaming, “Mama, Shah Rukh Khan, Shah Rukh Khan!!!” My whole family was laughing at her, but she was just sooooo happy to see her Shah Rukh Khan.
All mothers want to give their child the very best of every thing they have. For me, I feel my baby has learnt so very well. I especially feel when I falter. If ever she finds me being rude or doing anything wrong, she corrects me. At that moment I sometimes get irritated but realize that is this not what I have taught her always? And then the same feeling takes over… “Mera bacha”. <3 🙂
Rashmi Daryanani: My mother has always – and will always be – my biggest cheerleader. It’s a very freeing feeling to realise that no matter what happens, you will always have a solid presence around, whether to pick you up when you fall or cheer you on when you succeed. I hope I can always live up to the standards to which she holds me.
P.S. – My mom listens to Baby Doll and uses the word ‘totes’, so how cool is THAT?!
DhruvI Shah
Alka Shah: When Dhruvi was 1 & 1/2 yrs old, we left her with my mom (her nani) for slightly more than a month, so my husband and I could tour the U.S. The only reason we didn’t take Dhruvi along was because she wouldn’t register or remember anything and it would be inconvenient for everyone to travel around. When we came back and went to pick her up, she had a huge frown on her face and she didn’t talk to us. She was so angry and upset that we couldn’t get her to talk to us until after we brought her back home. We still laugh about this incident every time it comes up. We clearly remember her frowning face and how adorable she looked.
Dhruvi Shah: While it is never easy to list 1 thing you love the most about your mom, I think the biggest contribution my mom has made in my life is to have given me the freedom to be myself. She always left it to me to figure out the most comfortable I could be in any situation and go with it. I was never ordered to behave in a certain way or adhere to her way of living. If I am my own person, it is because my mom believed I would learn from my own experiences and decide what was best for me.
I love my mumma. And I wish she has the best Mother’s Day everyday. 🙂
Ranjit Rodricks
Anita Rodricks: As a little boy Ranjit was the perfect ‘snips and snails and puppy dog’s tails’ type of a kid. One day our maid was screaming her lungs out while she was supposedly washing clothes. I went running to the bathroom to see what happened to her. Unsuspectingly, she pulled out a lump of leaves from Ranjit’s shorts, and threw them aside. Before she knew it, there were little toads jumping all over the bathroom… which sent her ballistic.
The second time, I was called to school because, Ranjit had been chasing his class teacher all over the school with a snail in his hand. She was running around screaming, all over the school, because he got a huge thrill out of chasing her.
Another time he had got hold of ‘Lizzy’ the lizard and put her in our dog’s water bowl; that had me jumping sky-high as, I am petrified of lizards.
A few years later he rescued a snake which was being killed by our building watchman. That had all the gossiping aunties in our building run for cover.
But, that love for creepy crawly creatures paid off one day when he brought home a broken yucky oyster shell which he found on a school trip, to the beach. To our surprise there was a lovely grey pearl covered with slime.
He still has it, locked away!
Ranjit Rodricks: The one thing I love most about my mother is the fact that she is a super fabulous cook. Since my job involves me eating out a lot, I look forward to the times when I get to eat her home-cooked food. I especially look forward to Christmas – the one time of the year when she goes ALL OUT! From baking the traditional fruit cake, to whipping up home made sweets and then a grand lunch of roast turkey, pork vindaloo and her famous pulao garnished with dry fruits and burnt onions – this is one meal I look forward to 364 days of the year.
Karen Alfonso
Olinda Olfonso: I’m a teacher and Karen would often watch me dress up and sometimes visit my school. When she was around 2, she grabbed my glasses, snatched her fairy tale book and proceeded to act like me. It is my favourite memory as I realized I had a mini-me on my hands.
Karen Alfonso: I love that my mom has a very go-getter attitude that has been instilled into me. She’s proud of whatever I do and is always encouraging me to aim higher.
MARVIN D’SOUZA
Marvin D’Souza: Her memory of me? Well, she immediately pointed out my first stage performance. I was 5 and for Parent’s Day, we had to perform a dance. All tall boys in my class were dressed as men and the shorter guys were in dresses (normal for all boys school to fill in as girls, I guess). My mom tells me that I was furious that being one of taller boys, I couldn’t dress as the girl. I wanted the fluffy dress, pretty shoes and the hat. I apparently told mama that, it was exciting to be the girl compared to wearing my own clothes as I did it every day! I wanted to be someone else for one day. So, on stage as a rebel, swung my partner from left to right furiously. My mom was a bit embarrassed and entertained at the same time. Haha!
P.S. And I found a picture of performance!
My mama is a rockstar and pretty old-school about everything. She hates my standards of domestic cleanliness and *evil grin* I secretly love that it drives her insane. The one thing I admire most about her is that she is a strong inspiration in my life and sometimes, she doesn’t approve or understand my lifestyle but is patient. She gives me a chance to explain my side of the argument and considers it in her own time. And she has the weirdest cackle. (I LOVE that about her!)
Gigi Bedi
Gigi Bedi: I think my mom’s an alien or on some serious chemicals – she’s a powerhouse – much like the duracell bunny she never runs out. One of my favourite memory is at a party I threw – I’m infamous for throwing crazy dos, and my mom’s infamous for being the last person to leave – back to the party… she comes up to the roof around 2 am… all of us by now are the happiest soldiers on the strip… Mom zoned in on the the biggest drunk and decided she wanted to ‘hang out’ with him. She goes and sits with my friend – who fighting hard to be a good Indian baccha in front of aunty – and she starts talking politics. My poor friend, he had no clue what hit him, I think he exploded a few circuits trying to look sober in front of mum. Little did he know that my mom’s the coolest parent on the planet – thats until you’re being a d*** – That’s when BFF mom converts to Rani Laxmibai and you don’t want to be around when that happens. Happy Mother Day’s & Love you Ma (even when you drive me up the wall sometimes.)
PS. About the photo: my mom coming to the rescue (ALWAYS), helping me finish garments for a contest after I passed out tired on the table. I stood 2nd in that one 🙂
Zina Tasreen
Sultana Ahmed: My favourite memory of her was when she was born: she had hair all over and I thought I gave birth to a bear cub!
Zina Tasreen: The thing I love about my mum is that she’s so clued up with pop culture and me and my brother’s interests. From Zildjian cymbals to SpongeBob SquarePants, from Real Madrid players to Christian Louboutin shoes, she knows everything!
Khyati Gandhi
Bina Gandhi: My one kiddy memory about Khyati is that whenever and wherever the song gore gore mukhde pe kaala kaala cashma used to play she used to jump out wearing black sunglasses and tried to dance and imitate Akshay Kumar. And the recent funny memory is of her imitating Boman Irani from 3 idiots and Kareena kapoor for Jab We Met.
Khyati Gandhi: My mother is the one person without whom I literally can’t survive even for a day. She means the world to me. The one thing I love the most about my mother is that she always encourages me to pursue my dreams and gives me the correct guidance in all my problems. The best mother ever.
Andrea Brown
Theresa Brown: 1. You made me take you out every day after we took Erica to school until you learned to ride her bike which was gigantic for you! Took you just about 3 days.
2. The pebble in the nose incident.
3. You read a sign in the park completely to me when you were just barely 4 years old. I had no idea how you learned to do that.
4. The time your dad brought you to see me at work and you had your skirt tucked into your tights. He had let you run around all day like that “because she wanted to”. You were always a fashionista.
5. Cheerleading! You were all legs! It was adorable! I was sure you would be 6 feet tall with those long legs of yours.
6. Bringing me flowers. I used to love that.
7. Playing in the kitchen and how we used to make fun little foods like no bake chocolate cookies and ants on a log.
8. Making those cute little cinnamon smelling Christmas ornaments together.
Ok I’m all emotional now. Hope this helps!
I have always loved being your mother….
Andrea Brown: Mom, you are the shiniest, happiest heart on this planet. Your giggles are infectious and your smile melts hearts. You inspire me on a daily basis to be a better version of myself and, above all, do everything with love. I am truly blessed to be born to such an incredible woman. Thank you for all you do, Mom. I love you!
Heena Jain aka Kitchen Butterfly
When I asked my mom to pick a childhood memory of me, she had too many to share. So, I decided to leave out all the ones of my twin brother and I being naughty, and picked this one instead. 😉 She said, “You always liked to watch Hindi movies when we lived in London. Even though you were so little, you would stay awake sitting in your crib and watch the whole movie, as if you understood it all.” Now I know why I’ve always loved to dance to Bollywood songs. 🙂
Its hard to pick just one thing I love about my mom, but if I have to choose, I’d say its her energy. My mom can never sit still! She has raised 4 kids (2 being twins!) and now that I’m a mom, I am in awe. She made our lunches in the morning, went to work, was there for us after school and always cooked a full meal for us every night. On top of that, I don’t ever remember her being tired. She still had time to teach us different things (singing, sewing, cooking), help with science fair projects AND volunteer at the temple!
I am now a mother of 2 kids under 2 and its the hardest and most rewarding job I have ever had. No matter how tired I am, when my baby boy gives me a big smile at 2:00am or my daughter says “I wuv you mumma” before bedtime, its all worth it. 🙂 Mom, I truly appreciate all you have done for me. Thank you!
Feeling a little K3G emo yet? Who don’t you ask your mom to share a childhood memory of you and post it in the comments below along with a message for your mom? You could end up with that super awesome fuzzy feeling you get when somebody loves you unconditionally AND you might get a little MissMalini prize as a bonus 🙂
Sana Tungekar: Samreen was a quiet child but nevertheless she wanted me completely for herself at all times (that hasn’t changed at all even now). My most favourite memory of her is the day she was born. When she was brought to me, I saw her eyelids had a light bluish-pink shimmer in the most unusual manner and her lips were cherry red. Even the doctors suggested that this child was born with some make-up!
Samreen Tungekar: Mothers have these psychic powers to dissect our smallest wishes, and in my case, my mother points out to everything that I try to hide otherwise. Out of all the things that I love about her which in short is everything, what I love about her the most is how she thinks of me as her star child who is going to go places in life. Nothing can ever stand anywhere close to that kind of support. I love you Ma!
Anushka Mulchandani
Anushka Mulchandani: I spoke to her about a kiddie memory of me and of course it had to do with clothes and fashion. When I was a kid she got me a kit that allowed me to draw out a silhouette of a lady and I’d draw out clothes around it while playing ‘Designer’ with my friends. Other kids would want to be president or an astronaut and dentist, clearly I wanted to work with clothes. She still has some of these drawings.
My mother taught me everything I know about clothes and how to dress. When it comes to your appearance, she’s pretty much done it all – from being an expert at make-up and hair to designing clothes. The perks of being her daughter also involves fitting into all the same things. My mom and I share everything.
Parul Kakad
Best memory of my beloved first little girl… she was just few weeks old and I had to go to see one of my friends who was in the hospital, I had to leave her with her dad I had gone out briefly but when I came back she was crying on top of her voice, dad was after me to give her colic drops, being a medical person he thought her stomach is paining and I was not willing to give any medicine to such small baby so I said just give her to me she will be fine. So he gave her to me and she immediately stopped crying and started smiling at me and her dad. I still remember her smile. From that time as soon she cries he will immediately give her to me he will say take your daughter!
My best memory of Arman and Kanisha would be… There was a day I was a bit upset with Arman as he was upto some mischief. I expressed my unhappiness with my voice raised, meanwhile his little sister unhappy with the whole situation came upto me started blabbering somethin. She can barely utter a word. So she pushed him away to the other room. Tryin to be protective and gave me ‘that look!’ Like he’s my bro. Don’t mess with him. Arman and I laughed our heart out.
Ridhima Sinha
Ridhima Sinha: My mom said that when I was really little, each time I was being a brat she’d try to make me realize how tough it had been for her with me in her tummy for nine whole months. And I would always retort with a ‘Oh as if I was comfortable inside your belly with no lights or air conditioning. Haha!
The thing I love most about my Mom is her adorable ‘health is wealth’ mantra. I could’ve been in the middle of the toughest board examination prep in the world and she’d show up with a generous bowl of banana custard and say that everything else is not as important to her as my health and happiness. Her meticulous attention to detail, her unflagging optimism and her smile inspire me to be a better Mom everyday.
Being a mom is probably the most rewarding job you’ll ever do… its like having a never ending song in my heart, a song that celebrates this little piece of my heart that I see walking around in jumpers.
Anushka Arora
Anushka Arora: We used to have a groceries and sweets shop. Everytime my mom was busy serving customers I used to crawl at the back and open all the chocolate boxes eat some and leave half eaten chocolates for my mom to sell hahaha!
My best memory of my mommy has to be that whenever I used to come back from school she used to make me the most scrumptious sandwiches ever!!! I used to sit there eating them whilst watching the two most LOVED programmes; Home and Away and Neighbours! (Typical British thing to do!) The legacy of those sandwiches till live on… .so many years later they are still as yummy as ever.
The one thing that I love about not just my mom but all mom’s. Their love is unconditional!!!!!! What an amazing quality to have… love you so much mommyyy!!!