The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

Mother’s Day: All hype or some substance?
Gaurav Sood

MOTHERS are often taken for granted because they are always there for you. The thought that one should verbalise one’s emotions on a specific day takes a little getting used to. But, thanks to media hype and multinationals’ selling strategies, there’s a way to celebrate each and every day—Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day etc.

Multinationals use all sorts of tricks and strategies possible to promote their sales. One such important strategy is exploiting human emotions and sentiments.

Although many people believe that society is not being actually influenced to the extent the hype indicates. The fact is that the market does steer ones tastes and mould attitudes. New festivals and special occasions are given birth, so that one can spend and enjoy. Valentines, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Flower's Day, Friendship Day and many more were very strategically introduced in the society.

One such day is the Mother's Day, which according to American history falls on the second Sunday of May.

Krishna Devi, 58 and a mother of three sons strongly advocates that such days should not be allowed to affect our rich and vast culture. Krishna Devi, further tries to explain that such festivals may be well celebrated in the West where the children hardly meet their parents. " In our country children usually meet their parents regularly throughout their life. And if they cannot due to some reason, they would never need to use such special days to say ' hello' to their mothers," comments the lady.

Rajdeep Bains, a mother of a four-year-old naughty boy holds a similar viewpoint. Rajdeep feels that days like Mother's day do not hold any significance for their family. " It is a big hype that various cards selling companies have created. Neither does my son nor does my husband know what these days are. My son's school has arranged for a picnic for the mother's but hardly does anyone seem to know about the day much," says Rajdeep.

Harinder C. Jot Singh, a Deputy Manager with Indian Oil Corporation on the other hand feels that there is nothing wrong in celebrating a day for your mother. The manager says, " I like celebrating such days. Although, I often visit my mom but there are times when you like telling that you care for her. Of course, spending uselessly is not wise but then we spend uselessly on Divali also."

Poonam Sharma, a housewife whose parents have recently settled abroad feels positively about Mother's Day. Poonam says, "If we can celebrate Valentines, New Years why not Mother's Day! Mother is the greatest gift of god to the mankind. There is nothing bad in celebrating a special day for her. No doubt various card multinationals have created a hype in the market to promote their products but it is up to you to present her what ever you want to and how."

Tanya Vermani, a student of Carmel Convent School, says, " I see my mummy everyday and out of 365 days of the year all are Mother's Day for me. I don't think that we children need to celebrate this day. I came to know about this day in my school and from various cards in the market. I can bake a cake for mummy on any Sunday. My parents and me hardly bother about Mother's Day. If possible, I would love such a celebration every day.”

As Jasjeet,a bank executive puts it, “If you can show your feelings towards you mother throughout the year, it’s great but I feel there is no harm in devoting an entire day to articulating your appreciation for the effort your mother makes to light up your life. Nowadays, the pace of life is so fast that people who are not staying with their parents can at least connect and reach out to their source relationships”

The story of Mother's Day

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent (the 40-day-period leading up to Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honoured the mothers of England.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe, the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organised Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the second Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium, which also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May. — Complied from the Net.

“Art is an activity that needs to be kindled constantly”
Suparna Saraswati

UNLIKE bigger cities, Chandigarh has not been able to highlight the contribution of its women artists and provide them with what is their due. Committed young women artists of the city, however, lack a platform where they can display their works of art and the graph of their consistent effort and aesthetic evolution can be charted out. A rendezvous with a cross-section of these women artists of Chandigarh brought to the fore certain concerns.

Sonal, an acrylic painter, is one such artist who feels that women artists lack fora. She is based in Chandigarh and has done two solo show, besides several group participations in the city. Stating the reason for conducting select displays, Sonal confidently answers, “I only exhibit when I feel the need to communicate and there is justification for expression in my thought process. I restrict my shows to once in two years. I do not subscribe to mere exhibitionism of art craft or drawing room art. For me, it is much more than that.” A graduate of the Chandigarh College of Art, Sonal is married to Amarjit Virdi, also an artist. She does not feel that marriage and familial commitments, as is often the case with women artists, her aspirations for her art have undergone any drastic changes.

Sonal attributes her occasional inertia to the need to relax that is necessary for any artist to provide freshness to his/her work. “I am a voracious reader and that takes a lot of my time. While reading, I try to assimilate and articulate my own art inclinations that emerge from whatever I am browsing through. Also this sort of a different exercise makes me break the monotony of frequently attempting to create or churn.”, says Sonal. She does not yield to the usual excuse of ghar ka kaam and its unending lament of not finding time for pursuits of art. On the contrary, occasional breathers allow Sonal to experiment within her domain of art.

Sonal also does installations and collages, which are completely separate in content and creation from her paintings. She is currently preoccupied with paper sculpture and documentation of her experiences and reflections on child art drawn from her biweekly interaction with children of Vivek High School. “Children are original artists. I strongly feel that the curriculum of art needs to be altered seriously besides employing young aspiring artists as their teachers instead of drawing instructors who fail to motivate a child’s creative instincts.”

Sonal’s desire is to establish an art forum for like-minded women artists of the city. It will allow them to give vent to their aesthetic pursuits. “I must confess that I have been rather fortunate in marrying into a set-up where my talent is not only nurtured but is able to get its due. We have a studio at home, therefore I can strike a balance between my dual responsibilities regarding work and domestic chores.” Yes, there are many who perhaps have let go of their art pursuits because their marriages make them deviate from their passion. But then who is responsible? They themselves and no one else.

Art is one such creative activity that needs to be kindled constantly, perhaps in a small measure but on a regular basis, that daily output is absolutely important. And with Chandigarh opening its gates to art appreciation and display, Sonal is confident that women artists of the city must explore and develop their art, whatever the price, otherwise the very purpose of equipping oneself with such a talent is meaningless.