My mother loves to quote

To make a relevant point in a context, all of us have quoted an expert at some point in our lives. It is generally considered essential, not to say, fashionable to quote on a subject over which you want to claim autonomous authority. The more quotes you can pull out of your arsenal, the more scholarly you look.

Friends, I would like to introduce you to my Mom, the consummate scholar. My sisters and I were raised on her phenomenal quotes. A typical day in our childhood saw astounding quotes like these:

• Eating a spoonful of squished neem leaves with yogurt every morning will cure all of your stomach ailments. If you don't believe me, check last week's 'Kalaimagal' (a homemaker's magazine).
• On a hot sunny day like today, you should be sure to have a lot of yogurt to cool your body....our next door neighbor told me today so you see?
• Massaging warm gingily oil on the scalp twice a week will promote hair growth....your Aunt from Alwarpet told me over the phone yesterday......you should listen to her.
• Soaking your colors and whites separately for 15 minutes before washing is good for the clothes...I heard it from the man on the street corner ironing the clothes..

This is simply a sample of the million quotes she used every day to guide us in the right path of life. If it is not the weekly magazine, neighbor or a distant relative, she would have heard it from the daily TV newsperson, my uncle's maidservant, my aunt's sister-in-law or the dear old lady she met on the bus to the temple. Her ability to quote from a variety of sources is unparalleled.

Not to take away any credit from my father's erudition, he did occasionally quote but his knowledge was very limited to literary works such as Shakespeare and Thomas Gray. Okay, so he could recite Anthony's speech in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar from heart and quote famous poets but sadly he just could not compete with my mother's ability to quote on a wide range of issues.

The other day, I found myself telling my daughter "If you don't apply oil and braid your hair every day, you are not going to have any hair left. If you don't believe me, check with your grandmother." I have come full circle, wouldn't you say?

 

Viji aunty,

Thank you for enjoying my mother's quotes. I loved reading about your grandmother who used to sing apt songs for many instances. May be you can compile all the different songs that she sang and make a post out of it for us to enjoy?? Just a thought.

 

Dear Rema,

I am very glad to know that you enjoy my posts.

Your mother sounds delightful and I burst out laughing reading about how she gets her quotes a bit mixed up. That is priceless. Could our mothers be cousins, may be once removed? :rotfl Thank you for stopping by Rema.

 

Dear Aruna,

Thank you for taking the time to comment, yet again, for one of my posts. You are a strong cheering section all by yourself.

Though all mothers have this tendency to quote, my mother is a bit compulsive in this. She, for some convoluted reason, believes that any advice worth giving to children would be taken seriously only if it comes from someone other than her. We have tried all these years, in vain, to convince her that we would like to hear her views too once in a while.