CHENNAI : It was an emotional and entertaining night at Born to Win’s Saluting Motherhood Awards 2019 on Thursday. Jai Aswani, founder of Born to Win, has initiated several social initiatives that have earned him a lot of recognition. He came up with the idea of organising an award ceremony to recognise inspirational mothers, which he executed with the help of his mother, Varsha and his brother, Preet.
Mothers of 20 eminent personalities including Latha Rajinikanth (mother of Soundarya Rajinikanth and Aishwarya R Dhanush), Najma Khan (mother of actress Khushboo), Komalam Charuhasan (mother of Sushasini Maniratnam), and Anuradha Reddy (mother of Apsara Reddy). were awarded for being pillars of strength for their families and children.
While some of them were in tears, some of the mothers said it was the first time that they were being recognised and to have the award handed over by their children made it special. “My daughter is the sweetest in the world,” said Najma Khan wiping tears, as her granddaughter soothed her. “I hope everyone is blessed with a daughter like her.”
Apsara Reddy shared how her mother supported her and was a friend through some of the toughest phases of her life. “My mother not only let me dream but dreamt the dream with me. She has been my strongest critic and biggest support. I would also like to thank my mother’s friends. When a child has to make a big decision, it is the mother’s friends who become her sanctuary,” she said.
A striking similarity between all the mothers who were awarded was that they had immense faith in their children’s abilities. “Mothers tend to compare their children with others when they fail,” said IRS officer Nandakumar whose mother V Malliga was awarded. “My mother never compared me. She saw me fail, but always told me to go far ahead. She never felt I was a comparable commodity.”