When a mother smiles, an entire naton smiles with her

Such a simple thought. But when you think about it, rings so true. It is true that happiness of a nation starts at home with making a mother smile.

It is said that God could not be everywhere so he created mothers. And no, this is not a celebration of motherhood article nor is Mother's Day approaching!

Dr APJ Kalam has been harping on this thought in as many forums as he can: "When a mother smiles, the family smiles, when family smiles, society and the nation smile".

To celebrate this thought there was a writing contest for school kids and nearly 22,000 students around Ahmedabad shared their thoughts about how they made their mothers smile.

Putting the contest aside for a moment, Indian tradition has the custom of touching the mother's or parents' feet before leaving the house. It is said that blessings or grace brings with it positive vibrations that can garner positivity and ensure success in anything that the person sets out to do. The power of thought is no longer a matter of contest. It is well established that thoughts lead to action. Quite simply put, positive thoughts lead to positive action and negative thoughts lead to negative action.

The children wrote some lovely stories and poems recounting how they made their mother smile. One kid talked about how he helps his mother around the house so she can get some respite from the long monotonous household chores, while a whole lot talked about how improving their academic grades would get their mothers smiling.

Dr APJ Kalam runs a campaign called 'What I can give' . He has been travelling and touring the nation meeting youth and inducing them to 'give' rather than concentrate on 'take'. Much like what John F Kennedy, whose thought went on to become a legendary quote - "Ask not what your country does for you, ask what you do for your country". Dr Kalam is inspiring the youth to live a life of integrity. He is making the youth take an oath to look after the country in a responsible fashion, to plant trees in their respective schools, homes and societies and to adopt clean energy strategies. He takes an oath from the kids to respect and honour the tri-colour flag.

As part of the 'What I can give' campaign school kids all over India are participating in 'Make your mother smile'. This simple thought was inspired by Dr Kalam's own life. He recalls how his mother would sacrifice her own 'chappati' so that Kalam as a growing child could eat it. He recalls the numerous times that his mother would save him from getting into trouble with his father. According to Dr Kalam mother is at the root of the nation, since she is the root of a family unit.

Being a mother, the thought resonates. Few things in life are as precious as one's own child. A day's hard work, a day's anxiety and the biggest of tensions can be put aside if the child so much as gives a reassuring hug. It is hard to say who is making whom smile, because in the smile of the child lies the mother's smile.

The writer is  an entrepreneur and educationist
    manjulapooja.shroff@calorx.org