Reimagining Motherhood: Embracing the Basics of Hygiene
Basic Hygiene Skills The Unsung Hero of Motherhood
As the saying goes, motherhood is a bed of roses, but for Kamla from Manarsa village in Uttarakhand, the concept of the ‘joy of motherhood’ is nonexistent. She doesn't consider it to be a privilege, nor is it a sacrosanct feeling – for her, it's a normal course in life. While many city-bred mothers are often fussy about sanitizing their hands and of others around her child to ensure a germ-free environment, Kamla teaches her child life skills and values of their culture. Her moments of pride are not when the child recites a rhyme but when the child happily runs and plays with all and even a stranger, and is also independent in its own way, while the mother is away performing back-breaking duties from dawn to dusk.
A Different Kind of Motherhood
Kamla is not paranoid about the hygiene factor, and she doesn't understand the whole idea of reveling in the little moments of her child's first step or her first utterance. Basic hygiene skills are often taken for granted, but for Kamla, it's a choice she can't afford. She goes about her daily chores with the additional duty of making sure her three-year-old, whom she still breastfeeds, survives.
Life in the Mountains
The pahadi way of life poses more challenges to the children in comparison to those living on the plains. Kamla may not teach Divya rhymes and alphabets, but she makes sure that she teaches her life skills and values of their culture. The way Kamla is raising Divya does not match the conventional idea of motherhood or all that is considered safe and hygienic, yet, this to me is a different kind of motherhood created by the space they occupy; a motherhood that is usually not spoken about.
The Unsung Hero
Basic hygiene skills are often overlooked, but they are the unsung hero of motherhood. While city-bred mothers may have access to various resources and facilities to maintain hygiene around their children, mothers like Kamla show that basic hygiene skills can go a long way in ensuring the survival and well-being of their children in challenging circumstances.
Kamla's story reminds us of the importance of basic hygiene skills and how they can make all the difference, especially for mothers who may not have access to modern amenities. Basic hygiene skills are essential for ensuring the health and well-being of children, and they are a testament to the resilience and resourcefulness of mothers like Kamla who do everything in their power to ensure their children survive and thrive.
By Deepshi Arya
