(Part 4 of the series)
A date with my mom would usually go like this: a visit to a Church, shopping for shoes and clothes, lunch, a movie and off to the spa. We try to have these bonding moments each time we can, and such days don’t have to fall on any special occasion.
But for Mother’s Day, I’d
like to stretch our usual one-day date into a week or two spanning 6 cities
across India. Of course, given that your moms are up for an All-India tour and
have the same little joys as my mom’s, you may try to take the following route.
1. 1. First,
we go for a pilgrimage to Velankanni, the Tamil Nadu state which is home to one
of India’s biggest Catholic pilgrimage centres, the Basilica of Our Lady of
Good Health. My mom is a big devotee of the Our Lady. There, we can recite as
many rosaries as she would usually do, especially on a Wednesday, and pray for
good health and safety. Of course, depending on one’s beliefs and culture,
other religious sites can also be found in Andhra Pradesh (Tirumala
Venkateswara Temple), in Rajasthan (Dargah of Moinuddin Chishti), and in Punjab
(Harmandir Sahib), among many others. What’s important is to start this day
with a moment of prayer and reflection with your mom.
2. 2. Now,
from Velankanni, we can go for lunch in Bangalore, in nearby Karnataka. I know
India offers a lot of rich and diverse gastronomic pleasures, but Bangalore is
home for me now. So, I know which stomach pleasers could lead to my mom’s heart.
For example, we can do some restaurant-hopping along Church Street or around
Indiranagar. My mom’s not a picky eater, but she does have a smaller appetite.
We’ll see about that. Who knows, she might just opt for some soup at any
Chinese restaurant or actually go for a full-on Indian buffet somewhere. The point
is: we don’t want a hungry mom on Mother’s day (or week, in this case).
3. 3. To
lose those extra calories, as we also would want our moms to maintain their,
well, great health, we might need some breeze walking and at least, some arm
exercises while rolling out and choosing one cloth after the other in
textile-haven Coimbatore, again in Tamil Nadu. My mom is not the fashionista
kind, but she definitely loves her white pieces. She’s not into sarees and
other colorful stuff and all, but a pair of light day dresses and/or dusters would
really make her clothing bucket list. How about yours?
4. 4. We’ll
not go far from Coimbatore for some pampering as we head further south to
Kerala for some ayurvedic sessions. Normally, my mom and I would only go for
body scrub and full body massage. But since, we’re in Kerala, a couple of days’
therapy and diet might do wonders on our stress-stricken systems. Just be sure
the treatments are compatible with your mom’s medical condition and blood
pressure levels, etc.
5. 5. Relaxed
and feeling lighter than ever, we are ready to face the mean streets of Mumbai.
The movie buff that she is (my grandfather used to work at the town’s box
office), my mom would definitely want to check out the film scene of the
Bollywood kind. We’ll struggle with the language, but with our deep telenovela
sensibilities, we’ll sing and dance our way through a Hindi feature. My mom’s a
fan of love stories of the highly dramatic leaning.
6. 6. Our
cinematic hunger satisfied, we’ll step on towards my mom’s other guilty
pleasure: shoes! They say Agra has a big footwear industry. My mom’s a simple woman
but she goes head over heels when it comes to sandals, slip-ons, step-ins,
shoes. And while in Agra, we might as well cap our weeklong “Mother’s Day” date
with a stroll, new shoes and all, around the Taj Mahal to watch the sunset.
Just be careful not to get your new pair mixed up with the rest of the footwear
being left outside of the site. If ever, our big “Mother’s Day” celebration
might end up on the wrong foot.
Happy Mother’s Day to my mother
and every mother and grandmother in the world! // for Oasis Holidays
--
Photo Credits:
Indian_vegan_curry_in_Bangalore By Sharada Prasad CS from Berkeley, India Source
Ayurveda By Amila Tennakoon Source
For an all-India tour in 22 days, you may want to check out this .
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is a worldwide-eyed wanderer currently based in Bangalore, India. You may follow his musings and wanderings on this blog. is a series of articles based on Mr. Rover's adventures and discoveries in this very interesting and incredible subcontinent.
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