Prime Minister Narendra Modi penned a note for his mother Hirabaen, expressing “joy and gratitude” as she entered the 100th year of her life on Saturday.
“Maa…this isn’t a mere word but it captures a range of emotions. Today, 18th June is the day my Mother Heeraba enters her 100th year. On this special day, I have penned a few thoughts expressing joy and gratitude,” the prime minister tweeted along with the note.
In the note, PM Modi said, “Today, I feel extremely happy and fortunate to share that my mother Smt Heeraba is entering her hundredth year. This is going to be her birth centenary year. If my father had been alive, he too would have celebrated his 100th birthday last week. 2022 is a special year as my mother’s centenary year is starting, and my father would have completed his.”
Hirabaen, who was born on June 18, 1923, lives with PM Modi’s younger brother Pankaj Modi at Raysan village on the outskirts of Gandhinagar city in Gujarat.
Even though she entered the 100th year of her life, she is still the same, said the prime minister, adding that “age may have taken a toll physically, but she is as mentally alert as ever.”
“I have no doubt that everything good in my life, and all that is good in my character, can be attributed to my parents. Today, as I sit in Delhi, I am filled with memories from the past,” the PM said.
He further said: “A mother’s penance creates a good human being. Her affection fills a child with human values and empathy. A mother is not an individual or a personality, motherhood is a quality. It is often said that the Gods are made according to the nature of their devotees. Similarly, we experience our mothers and their motherhood according to our own nature and mindset.”
Recalling his grandmother early death due to the Spanish Flu pandemic, PM Modi said Heeraba spent her entire childhood without her mother. “She does not even remember my grandmother’s face or the comfort of her lap…Her childhood was one of poverty and deprivation,” he said.
“Mother did not have much of a childhood due to these struggles – she was forced to grow beyond her age. She was the eldest child in her family and became the eldest daughter-in-law after marriage. In her childhood, she used to take care of the entire family and manage all the chores. After marriage too, she picked up all these responsibilities. Despite the onerous responsibilities and everyday struggles, Mother held the entire family together with calm and fortitude,” he shared in his note.
Talking about the struggles of his family during his childhood, the PM said, “Usually, scarcity leads to stress. However, my parents never let the anxiety from the daily struggles overwhelm the family atmosphere. Both my parents carefully divided their responsibilities and fulfilled them.”
The prime minister said that he used to wash dirty clothes at a pond in his childhood. “I used to really enjoy swimming in the local pond. So, I used to take all the dirty clothes from home and wash them at the pond. The washing of clothes and my play, both used to get done together,” he said.
Sharing various anecdotes from her life, the PM said, “Mother has always inspired me to have a strong resolve and focus on garib kalian.”
“In my Mother’s life story, I see the penance, sacrifice, and contribution of India’s matrushakti. Whenever I look at Mother and crores of women like her, I find there is nothing that is unachievable for Indian women. Far beyond every tale of deprivation, is the glorious story of a mother, far above every struggle, is the strong resolve of a mother… I have never been able to muster the courage to write at length publicly about your life until now… I bow at your feet,” the PM concluded.
