Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out! Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, though we
It was about a month back that I first got a mail, inviting me
to participate in the Mia by Tanishq contest. The mail mentioned the TV ad running
then, and I realised how disconnected I was, with happenings on the TV front! I
am usually reluctant to participate in contests (as most of you know well by
now) and my first instinct was to refuse. Besides, it was barely a week since
my father-in-law had passed on, and I had the perfect excuse too. But, I must
admit, I was curious. Both, about the ad, as well as the tag line for the
contest – As Beautiful as your work!
Amidst all the work at home, I managed to grab one look at the
ad....
And the first person I thought of, was my sister. I could so
imagine her as Megha, with her taste in ear rings. She has just begun work, and
I wondered if she would react like Megha too. And I hoped she would. After all,
I am the one who gets her ear rings of every shape and size!!!!!
However, she isn’t the one I want to write about. Amongst all
the women I know, there is just one who fits the bill; whose image was the one
that came to my mind the minute I read that mail. That woman is my mother.
She never ‘went to work’ but worked harder than most people I know
(and that includes me). She faced dilemmas more complex than Megha’s in the ad,
and tougher than the ones I face today, yet she remained strong – holding on to
her convictions, staying true to herself, doing what she believed was best. And
the results proved her right.
She was a single parent, a stay-at-home-mother (SAHM) in the
time the term wasn’t even invented, and as to how well she did her job, just
see how I turned out!!!
She faced criticism and fault finding with the same aplomb that
she faced everything else, never losing her cool, never shouting or creating a
scene. Today, as I lose my temper at the slightest mischief of my son, I wish I
had inherited her patience, and her inner calmness, which saw her through much
worse.
Life seemed to throw troubles at her again and again, forcing
her to question the choices she had made. But she stayed true to her
principles, her ideas, and her decisions. I truly wish I had her resilience
too!
The woman I know as my mother has never worn much jewellery, or
dressed up. Yet she looks just as beautiful today as the day she was married,
even without all the adornment. In fact, I think she looks even more beautiful
today, for she has remained the same in spite of all that she has been through.
She, truly is the woman, who I feel, is “As beautiful as her
work”.
This post is my entry for the Mia by Tanishq Blogger Contest.
Simply beautiful Anu!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post, Anu. I have met your mom and I know how nice a person she is... All the very best for thee contest...
ReplyDeleteAnu what a beautiful post!
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A very beautifully written and emotional post, Anu.
ReplyDelete