CHENNAI:They are all around us. These mothers busy are as ants as they work around the clock while keeping a low-profile. They don’t get mother’s day greeting cards in their honour but are definitely deserving of the respect, for the amount of labour they juggle to make something of their kids. Without whom our homes might very well be a ‘disaster’ site. To us they are domestic helps, but they too are mothers first.
Jayagandhi is one such example. Having braved the sudden demise of her husband at a young age, she decided to give her son a comfortable life. Even at 52, she works at five houses everyday and has managed to make her son a graduate. “He is an engineer,” she beams with unadulterated pride. Ranjini (44) tells CE how her husband’s alcoholism drove both herself and her daughter to fend for their children, by themselves.
Her daughter who lives with her, works in multiple households like her to help make ends meet. She has got three children married, yet saved money for the grand kids. “I once asked my mother why she didn’t let me study. Today my granddaughter asks me the same question about my daughter and I have nothing to say. I only wish to work enough to get my grandchildren to go to schools and colleges.”