Mother's Touch

I often think of how to be a better mom. May be like what my mother is to me. I look at my daughter's hair and my mind races back to when I was 14.

We had many Aloe Vera (Ghrit Kumari) plants thriving on the edges of the wall of our house. They flourished through hot summers and dry winters and always looked quite healthy and succulent. Once every few months a beautiful lush and juicy stalk would shoot out of the center of the fleshy leaves. The composite flowers would remain there for a week or so before wilting off to the ground. I always wondered what was inside those juicy leaves. They seemed to hold at least half a glass of pulpy jello in there!

My mother used to oil and braid my hair every day. One afternoon, she picked up a kitchen knife and cut one of those fleshy Aloe Vera leaves from the garden. She brought it inside, washed it well under water and slit it along its length from the base, leaving it attached at the pointed end. She took a handful of 'methi' (fenugreek) seeds and sprinkled them quite liberally on the inside of the leaf. Then she took a small string and tied the two halves of the leaf back together. The sandwiched leaf sat on the kitchen table for days and I almost forgot about it.

A few days later my mother untied the string and parted the folds of the leaf. I peeped in to discover that the 'methi' seeds had sprouted having imbibed all the water from inside the juicy leaf. She took a large spoon and scooped off the sprouts and the flesh from inside and collected it in a bowl. Afterwards she ground it to a fine paste. Then she called me over and opened my braids. Taking dollops of the paste in her hands, she applied it to my hair and scalp. It was a shampoo like none other. Aloe Vera gave it the cooled Vitamin E, methi was the conditioner and my mother's fingers running through my hair transferred sheer love.

I look at my daughter's tumbling, curly, thick, black hair washed squeaky clean with Pantene Pro V shampoo plus conditioner and wonder what is missing.