There are good days. There are awesome days. There are bad days. And then there are “I don’t know what but something is off” days. It’s the last one that invokes an odd feeling and an unknown sense of void that keeps nagging you as you sail through the day. You try to focus on the positives and get all the strength from within. You try to brush aside the thoughts which are seemingly unfounded. You sometimes feel you are getting there. And other times you feel you are far from it. This is something we all experience at different points in our lives. I am no different.
Perched on my sofa, I pondered and inadvertently, my mind traversed back to that day. 5th May 2019. It was the day that was a turning point in my life in more ways than one. As the reels of those memories started unfolding in front of my eyes, my heart began to feel full. I felt grateful and content. I was reminded of what I am made of. I was inspired by my own journey. I was motivated to fulfil the responsibilities that come with the recognitions and accolades. All it took was looking back to see how far I have come and understand that, however challenging the path ahead might be, I can trail forward because I have done it before.
If I ever sit to write my biography, 5th May 2019 will go down as an important day in the list of my life events. On this day, I was conferred with the “Infuencer of the Year” award in Mumbai at the Inspire Beyond Motherhood Awards event. But, this is not the only reason why this day is special. It was a day when mothers came under the same roof to celebrate their achievements. It was a day when mothers from different walks of life cheered for strangers because there was an unsaid, imperceptible bond tying them all together. It was a day when we all said loud and clear – “There is more to us than being a mother”.
This beautiful concept is a brainchild of two extremely dynamic and powerhouse women – Prerna Sinha and Nirupama. They were on their toes throughout to ensure impeccable execution and made us all comfortable with their affability and warmth. Meeting women acing it in various spheres of work was not only a great learning experience but was also humbling and rejuvenating. The panel discussion organized was insightful and to be honest, I was sold on the title itself – “Is motherhood our glass ceiling?” I personally relate to this because when I gave birth to my daughter, I was told by many that I should forget about building a career for the next ten years. Every mother in that hall, bustling with energy and gusto, has shattered this myth in her own ways. Due to societal conditioning, the glass ceiling is in our minds and we need to overcome these internal barriers to be able to combat the external ones. The glass ceiling is not in motherhood but in the glorification of mothers and putting them on a pedestal that is unfair and lumbering.
To me, ‘Inspire Beyond Motherhood’ is actually a movement and am blessed to be a part of it. This recognition is so much more than a trophy. Having the power to influence is a huge responsibility and I think, this has aided in my growth as a person and has made me even more open to learn and keep myself in check.
A huge shout out to everyone who were associated with the IBM Awards 2019:
The fantastic organisers –
Prerna Sinha – Founder of Maaofallblogs
Nirupama – Founder of Fit Life Style
Our inspiring Chief Guest:
Manasi Roy Manasi Joshi Roy
The esteemed jury:
Kiran Manral
Farida Venkat
Payal Gidwani
Rakhee Vaswani
The wonderful panelists:
Mansi Zaveri
The awesome Moderator:
Sonia Kulkarni
Performing Artist of the evening who simply vowed us with her words on stage:
Jasmine Khurana Creative Dopes
Inner Being – Associate Partner
VlCC- Gifting Partner
Neha Pooja Kare – Founder MUMO – Community Partner
SheThePeople – Digital Media Partner
Srujan Foundation – Supporting NGO Partner
Shilpa Dsouza – Founder Yogi Today – Gifting Partner – YogiToday
Shweta Saxena – Founder Woman TV India – Web Media Partner
Neha Rathi- Seven Seas Solution – Creative Media Partner 7seassolutions
Radio Mirchi – Happiness Partner RadioMirchi. Mirchimumbaikar
And last but not the least – the brilliant Vimmi Sanghvi who managed the whole event to perfection.
Closing this post with a few lines I penned for every warrior mother fighting a battle with self or facing struggles that can be dispiriting. We are all in this together – to inspire each other and celebrate ourselves.
Broken but not fallen apart,
Bruised but not battered;
Befuddled but not lost,
Behind but not shattered.
Swollen but not numb,
Struggling but not defeated;
Slackened but not surrendered,
Shrunk but not dissipated.
Deficient but not empty,
Dragging but not knocked down;
Distanced but not disconnected,
Dazed but not a frown.
Alone but not lonely,
Trudging along from dusk to dawn;
With a hope to find the rising sun,
I know I have to keep moving on.