That the dialogue ‘Mere Paas Maa hai’ ( I have the Mother) would be immortalised we could not assess in 1975 when the film ‘Deewar’ was released and made waves on account of its hard hitting dialogues and performance by Amitabh Bachhan who plays the gangster . The elder brother played by Amitabh Bachhan had asked his younger brother Shashi Kapoor who is a Police officer to meet under the bridge from where they had started their childhood journey and to advise him to take transfer to another city as his life was in danger from his gang. The younger brother refuses and says that his ‘Usool’ ( rules) and ‘Adarsh’ ( principles ) do not allow him to take such a step. Amitabh Bachhan is anguished with the reply and tries to run him down by saying that his principles and rules give him hardly any economic sustenance – a four to five hundred rupee pay, a rented house , a jeep on duty and two sets of uniform . And then he compares his economic status with him by saying “ Mere paas Building hai ,property hai, Bank balance hai, Bangla hai, Gaadi hai, Kya hai tumhare paas?”. It is at this juncture that Shashi Kapoor makes the iconic statement “Mere paas maa hai”. At the same time there is sound of a train whistle and two compartments softly colliding. ‘Maa’ ‘ means the ‘rules and principles’ , idealism , integrity, Truth and morality. And much more.
It put an end to the conversation between brothers. There was no reply to the statement. It was because he spoke the Truth. He had their mother with him physically and emotionally. He had the legitimacy, he had the ‘Zameer’ with him, he had the power, he had the ‘veto power’ .He had no money but he had the ‘ideology’ he had the ‘Sanskars’ he had the ‘Brahmastra’ against which all weapons were ineffective. He hit the proverbial ‘nail on the head’ . Mother gives ‘protection’ both emotional and physical. When denied justice or fair play or hurt or hit children rush to convey and to the loving arms of the mother who consoles them and Shields them from the enemies and the opponents. Here too the younger brother had the protective shield . He wanted no other ‘economic support’ of which his elder brother was boasting :
“Choo sakti nahin maut aasaani se isko Yeh bachha abhi Maan ki duaayen oedhe hue hai”
( Death cannot reach easily , this child is wearing the blessings of his Mother) .
-Munnawar Rana’s Gazal titled ‘Maa’.
The words written by ‘Salim – Javed’ continue to be referred and quoted and have not lost its shine. What therefore is the force, the foundation, the power behind this simple statement? How did it capture the hearts and minds of the nation for the last 50 years and continues to do so? The writers were perhaps not aware of such a deep societal impact of these words. Since the release of the film this dialogue; this statement; this sentence is heard often in conversation in arguments; in cases before judges while asserting one’s clinching statement, in seriousness, in jest . It has captivated and activated the people.
Therefore the connect; the association to these words was not merely the film scene which made Amitabh Bachchan famous. It was much deeper. Sometimes a statement activates a deep dormant memory in our minds. Yes; this dialogue too does that and continues to do so. It has deep association to our individual and collective memory; memory which has been built brick by brick with the passage of time through the numerous works of literature, the People’s movements, customs, rituals and tradition and struggles which has been at the centre stage. And therefore we draw our own inspiration and interpretation. And indeed if we delve deep we discern the immense power of the ‘Mother / Mathrishakti’ in our lives, literature and society.
Adi Shankaracharya who in the 8th century integrated India culturally by establishing four ‘Dhams’ . In each of these ‘Dhams’ Shankaracharya established ‘Devi Puja’. He also gave us some original works and ‘Bhajans’ in addition to his commentary on Vedanta and other scriptures. In ‘Saundarya-Lehri’ a poetic work in hundred and three verses is also called ‘Wave of Beauty’ or ‘Ocean of beauty’ . It celebrates the power of the ‘mother goddess’ ‘Shakti’ which is latent and without which ‘Lord Shiv’ is incomplete. In each of the Ancient famous temples be it Badrinath , Tirupati or Guruvavur though the presiding deity is Vishnu/Venketeshwar/Krishna there is a shrine for the Shakti the mother goddess.
There is cinema history and culture associated with ‘Mere paas maa hai’. It was established by Mehboob Khan in his 1957 film ‘Mother India’ in which the mother played by Nargis shoots down her younger beloved son as he had turned a dacoit to seek revenge and was forcefully taking away the bride from the marriage Mandap whom he loved. Therefore, Nargis does the most unbelievable act, she pulls out her double barred gun and shoots her fleeing son. It shook the audience and the Nation. The movie is landmark of Hindi Cinema , and was nominated for the Oscars. It reestablished the moral standards of society. The film was a super-hit acknowledging the action of the mother who sacrifices her son to save the moral standards of her village, and thus embodied ‘Mother India’.
The worship of ‘Mother Godess’ is a strong part of Indian ritual. Twice a year ‘Navratri Puja’ is observed during which Goddess Durga , the Protector is worshipped . Some devotees perform ‘Paath’ of ‘Durga Saptshati’ ( Durga seven hundred verses ) during this period . Large number of people observe austerity and fast.
Indeed the power and participation of women was supreme during the freedom struggle. On Gandhiji’s call thousands of women came out of the houses to the streets and offered arrests, participated in ‘Satyagraha’ sacrificed their domestic life. They participated in the civil disobedience movement and the 1942 quit India movement. The participation of women gave legitimacy and strength to the movement. In modern India it was perhaps the first time that women came out in the streets despite being tied down to the household work. This was shocking and surprising for the British regime. When women participate in such social movements it is the family which participates. Family which is the ‘social unit’ of the nation and therefore the entire nation is participating in such movements. Even Subhash Chandra Bose encouraged women to join the Indian National Army and had a battalion which consisted of women. it was called Rani Jhansi Battalion.
No peoples’ movement Is complete without participation of women. The Great October Revolution of 1917 in Russia apparently was led by Lenin and his followers the Bolsheviks but what was unseen and unsaid was the Latent support of the thousands of mothers and families who suffered the atrocities and felt justified to voluntarily support the movement. The role of the mothers was the backbone of the movement and has been vividly captured in Maxim Gorky’s novel by the name ‘Mother’. How a battered housewife rises to the occasion . She had lived a life of a devoted housewife and has a son. After the death of her husband her son becomes a revolutionary and she gradually joins the movement. She learns to read, she secretly distributes the underground newspaper, she hides the pamphlets, she disguises, goes to villages and motivates and becomes the face of the faceless who support the movement from behind. Being a devout Christian she worships Christ but is also able to relate to the atrocities by the Czar regime ,the soldiers the police the administrations. Her son soon becomes a leader and she too rises to the occasion .
Our National song is Bankim Chandra Chatterji’s ‘Vande Matram’- ‘I Bow to Mother’. It is the ‘soft power’ of the State. An ‘Ideal’ to live up-to.
