This article of mine, was published in the October (First) 2012 issue of Woman's Era.
My Confidante? Mum’s the word!
Susheela was regularly bullied by a group of rowdy boys in school. She was a twelve year
old girl who went to a co-ed school in a Mofussil area. She knew that if she’d complain to her
Dad, he would just withdraw her admission from the school and make her sit at home. That
would ruin her dreams of becoming a school teacher. Hence she confided in her mother one
day. Her mother was a calm and quiet lady with a pleasant demeanor and self-confidence. She
was used to taking her own decisions and wanted to make her daughter as self-assured as she
was.
She told Susheela to take the boys head-on and tell them off boldly. She even told her to
report the matter to her school’s Principal. She wanted Susheela to be brave and face the
obstacles in her path head-on. She didn’t want to encourage her to be a sissy! She assured her
that if all these steps failed, she herself would come and report the matter to the Principal and
see that those bullies were punished.
Accordingly, when those boys started making crude comments about her, one day,
Susheela mustered requisite courage and retorted by saying that she was warning them to
steer clear of her or she would report their obnoxious behavior to the Principal and have them
rusticated. That was enough for the cowards to come to their senses. They stopped troubling
her from that day onwards. Susheela felt very happy that her mother had instilled such courage
in her. She thanked her mother profusely and promised that she’d make her proud of her
daughter one day.
This instance shows the important role that mothers play in the lives of their young ones.
That of a confidante! The children know that this is one person who won’t let them down, ever!
The constant support and the backing, the assurance and sound advice, the ability to keep
secrets and show the right way out of sticky situations in life can be done most ably by these
blessed souls. Indeed, where would we all be, without our mothers’ guidance and their ever-
willing ears?
To be continued...
