On Mother’s Day, director-producer Nivedita Basu reflects on her deep bond with her mother, who was her closest friend during her Army childhood.
Mother’s Day falls on May 11, but director-producer Nivedita Basu doesn’t believe in celebrating her mother on just one day. Instead, she ensures that every time they meet, she cherishes and celebrates her mother. She also revealed that since her father was in the Army and they were posted every couple of years, she had just one constant friend — her mother.
“I think Mother’s Day, for us, isn’t a special day, which is something I say about every occasion. It’s just how we were brought up. I don’t even remember my sister and me celebrating Valentine’s Day, so forget these days. For us, our mother was like a sacrosanct person; she was our best friend. My dad was in the Army, so we never really had permanent friends. We made a lot of friends, but growing up, my mother was my friend, confidante, and everything,” she said.
“We actually used to compare her to Nirupa Roy, because in my 46 years of existence, I have never seen my mother raise her voice, shout, or beat us, which some people say is every mother’s story,” she added.
She also shared that her mother inherited her cooking skills from her nani. Even if she made plain rice and dal, it tasted amazing. She further said, “But the few things I clearly remember her making were bread pudding — we used to have it practically every day at home. I loved it loaded with dried fruits, and she used to add them in huge quantities. She would say, ‘I can’t find any bread; it’s only dried fruits.’”
“And the other thing was caramel custard. People say caramel custard is usually creamy, floaty, and soft, but ours used to be rock solid. So I think my mom did something right! Since my dad was in the Army, they hosted a lot of parties at home, so we had more continental dishes, but our Indian food was also to die for,” she added.
Nivedita shared that now that she is a mother herself, she celebrates Mother’s Day because it has become more popular than it was before.
“I celebrate more with my kids and cut a cake. We call my sister and mother on a video call, like we do for every occasion. But yes, I’m waiting for my kids’ summer vacation to start so that we can visit my mom. And I think once we are there, we celebrate each day — we have fun, we visit friends and relatives, and every day becomes festive for us. So it makes up for all the festivals we’ve missed celebrating with her,” she concluded.
