Manipur among the Best Place to be a Mother in India!!?

On mother’s day, a leading newspaper in Delhi published the result of a survey listing the best states to be a mother in, and it nearly shocked me when I saw Manipur in the top three. It definitely amused me –shall I believe it or call it a sham! What do our women folks have in their favour that the rest of India seems to lack? I try to find some reasonable answer, apart from the slight difference in cultural factor and higher awareness level (I want to believe this), the three main criteria seems to be far-fetched for Manipur.

The survey was conducted by ‘Save the Children’, an NGO that compiled the data from the National Health and Family Survey 3 (NHFS), and the Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin. Their main three criteria were: infant mortality rates (IMR), antenatal care and institutional deliveries.

I have no details of the survey, so I cannot comment on which sector did our women scored their points. But I think it must be Infant Mortality Rates since the other two criteria are not the stuff Manipur is known of. Even though I don’t have any supporting data, there certainly are some reasons to believe that the mortality rate of Manipur is lower than the other states even with simple observation.

Apart from that, most of the north-eastern states have strong and liberated women compared to mainland women, educational achievement may not be higher, but overall literacy rate is definitely higher, and thus awareness. High awareness level in every aspect of life is important since it helps us prepare for whatever that comes and help us make the right choice.

Institutional deliveries and antenatal care, on the other hand, are still on the stage of dreams for the women of Manipur. Whatever antenatal cares they got are within their own capacity and effort, and there are very, very few institutions where women can deliver or approach for cares even in cases of complications.

In fact, there are very few women from the rural area, especially in Churachandpur district, who came up to the district hospital for, forget about weekly, monthly check-up or even to deliver. Delivery as well as antenatal cares were taken care-of at home. May be this is the reason why Infant Mortality Rate is low in Manipur.

This survey seems to prove that our traditional practices and cares of pregnant women –before, during and after delivery are not unhealthy or unprofessional. It seems our mothers knows as much as those goddamned nurses who don’t do their jobs. Kudos to our woman, they know how to take care of themselves and, oh yes, the family! Strong Women, God bless them all (excluding the Nurses and Doctors)!!!

As I can see, it may not be too presumptuous to say that the National Health and Family Survey-3’s data were rigged or the Manipur government must have supplied imaginary data since it is a rare sight to see a functioning Primary Health Centres in the rural areas of Manipur, and since most of the nurses and doctors posted in the rural areas have happily lived in their respective home irrespective of where their home is. Oh! I might just add ‘happily ever after’ –with no works and no one to pull them up!

Something about my Mother

My mother is a legend on her own right. Anyone who knows her cannot help saying that they love her and those are the very people on whose faces I can sense fear when they first interact with her.

My mother is not a typical stay-at-home mother, who would wept all day watching soaps on TV or always busy with the household chores. Rather she is an active one: socially, spiritually and physically, and I must also add -with an active and healthy tongue. She did not hesitate to stand-up for her beliefs and always speaks her mind.

Nothing can delute here views. She likes it or she dislikes it, and she would say so. If you rub her on the wrong way, be ready to face the verbal bullet she is going to fire at you, but if you are being your normal self, if she agreed with you and your view or not, she would treat you as her equal.

Even till now, I hardly remember my mother doing something for me that I can do it myself, like washing my own clothes, dishes and room. If my cloth is broken, she would know and stitch it up, but if it is dirty, she would remind me that my cloth is dirty. When me and my 5 brothers and sisters were growing up, she would divide all the household chores among us, and each one of us was expected to finish our duty -and I must tell you it never was a problem.

The only thing that I can say about my Mother that always annoy me in my younger day is that she would never allow me to have more than Four clothes at a time. From my childhood day till I left home at age 14, I never remember ever having more than four shirt, four pants, two shoes, two socks, etc. If I ever have an extra one, she would give it to some relative, friends or neighbours. At that time, it always annoy me, but now, I fully understand why she did that and I must say, I am proud of it. Here, I can only add -she also has a healthy Heart!

I have lots to write about my Mother, but I must stop here as I am sitting in a Cyber Cafe and I am running out of time. But here is a poem by my favourite Poet, Christina Rossetti...I dedicate this to my dearest Mom on Mother's Day.

SONNETS ARE FULL OF LOVE


Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome
Has many sonnets: so here now shall be
One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me
To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home,
To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee
I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome;
Whose service is my special dignity,
And she my loadstar while I go and come
And so because you love me, and because
I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath
Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honored name:
In you not fourscore years can dim the flame
Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws
Of time and change and mortal life and death.

-Christina Rossetti (1881)