Searching for my life’s Chief of Operations - R.I.P. …

Let me start with the Job Description -

“Responsibilities and requirements of this position are quite extensive. The job requires that you must be able to work standing up, most or really, all of time; constantly on your feet, constantly bending over, constantly exerting yourself with a high level of stamina. For 135 hours to unlimited hours a week, the job is basically 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no breaks (it is very much legal). You can have lunch, but only when the associates are done eating theirs. Associates may need constant attention - sometimes you have to stay up with an associate throughout the night … possibly have no time to sleep! This position requires excellent negotiation and interpersonal skill and someone that might have a degree in medicine, in finance and in culinary arts etc. You must be able to wear several hats and being able to work at a chaotic environment. If you had a life, we would ask you to sort of give that up! No vacations: in fact, during festivals and holidays, the workload is going to go up and all that is demanded with a happy disposition. The meaningful connections that you make and the feeling that you get from really helping your associates are immeasurable. Also, in terms of the salary, this position will pay absolutely nothing! yeah, pro bono … completely for free!”

Interested? actually, this position is currently held by billions of people - “moms”! But, then in life, this position is irreplaceable, as you have only one mother ever. They say that a child gives birth to a mother; and hence, it must also be true that the child ceases to exist, as the mother passes away.

This Mother’s Day is different for the child in me. I lost my mother … my life’s Chief of Operations … 2 weeks back. As she breathed her last, she continued to remind me of a soft fact of life - “We are loved when we are born; we will be loved when we die; in between, we have to manage.”

As I complete her rites, there is something that I will always cherish - our daily 10 PM call, that was more than a ritual for me, as she or I would never give it a miss, wherever on the planet, we would have been. And therefore, here is a promise for the next 365 days of the year - I will keep myself free for 10 minutes at 10 PM IST every night - awaiting that call to come in, may be from someone among you - WhatsApp me at +91.99727.11233 and we shall talk, about that super-human called “mom” in our lives.