Mothers Who Have Nurtured A Generation Of Champions

We know that power and strength run in families. But what traits do mothers pass on to their daughters? An allergy to nonsense? Rajashree Balaram speaks to mothers who have nurtured a generation of champions, and daughters who are still learning, every day.

- Rajashree Balaram

The ’70s was a restless decade. Historians refer to it as a pivotal time, when progressive, liberal values bubbled to the surface as an outcome of vigorous political churn. The effect was most noticeable in the lives of women; suddenly, there erupted a passionate quest for economic independence and an unrestrained assertion of identity. It is not surprising that bell bottoms would dominate the fashion landscape of those years. Billowy and flared around the legs, they made a statement— our limbs would not be shackled by propriety and convention.

It’s telling that famed Odissi dancer Protima Bedi is best remembered for running naked on Juhu Beach, Mumbai, in 1974. This ’70s icon, representing freedom of expression in India, still faced her share of criticism from even the most liberal flower-power non-conformists of the time, who couldn’t help but wonder, ‘What kind of a mother is a woman like that?’ In 2005, three decades later, Protima’s proud daughter, actor Pooja Bedi, released Time Pass, a book based on Protima’s half-written memoirs.

In an interview, Pooja said her mum was open about everything in life, and that working on that book was not cathartic for her at all because Protima never concealed the details of her relationships or her private actions from her children in the first place. While editing the book,Pooja was often tempted to temper the more notorious aspects of her mum’s life. But she finally left the details of the book naked and unsoftened, the way her mother would have wanted it. Not many would choose to open themselves and the memory of a loved one up like this to controversy. But much of Pooja’s audacity was long bequeathed to her by her mother. It’s clear that the late Protima’s indomitable honesty continues to guide Pooja’s outlook towards life and truth.