A Mother Is An Individual Too – With Her Own Identity And Opinions!

A woman’s entire world revolves around her kid, but does having an aspiration/interest of her own undermine her as a mother?

The movie Tribhanga is the perfect way to exemplify this quote, ‘You reap what you sow,’ but in a discreet way of contemplation.

So let me first fill you in on the details of the film if you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet. This is the first Hindi movie directed by Renuka Shahane.

The movie has been beautifully portrayed in the language of Odissi dance. Here Nayantara is Abhanga ‘unstoppable and insanely intelligent’ while Anuradha is Tribhanga – ‘flawed or irregular,’ and Masha is Samabhanga – ‘completely balanced.’

They are flawed but they are relatable

As the movie begins, Nayantara suffers a brain stroke which puts her in a coma. This gets the family in the hospital. And slowly the various chapters on unconventional professional aspirations, sexual harassment, domestic violence and social shaming unfold.

Nayantara was married in an orthodox Marathi family where her MIL wanted her to concentrate solely on the household chores and children. Agonised with the shackles of conservative beliefs being imposed upon her and lack of her husband’s support, she leaves the house with her children Anuradha and Robindro.

While Anuradha is a fierce and insanely independent character. She abhors her mother due to a childhood trauma which she thinks that her mother knew but never took any action on. A  single mother to a child from an abusive live-in relationship, she is very protective of her daughter

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Masha on the other hand is illustrated as a very calm person who marries into a rather traditional family by choice. She thinks this decision can give her future children a conventional childhood that she was denied due to her father’s absence.

Why must she lose her identity when she becomes a mom?

We gradually get to know how each of these women has dealt with their own share of challenges in life. It paints an almost accurate picture of the expectations that are set for mothers – of the boundaries drawn for a woman once she enters motherhood. Anything more or less is not to be accepted, in fact, loathed upon – not only by the society but by her own offsprings as well.

What agonises a mother most is never the shallow mindedness of the people around her. But when her own child whom she has relentlessly nurtured with her blood and sweat falls prey to this superficial attitude. It breaks her inside out.

A woman’s entire world revolves around her kid, but does having an aspiration or interest of her own undermine her as a mother? Does entering motherhood mean losing one’s identity and take a backseat in life? And if the answer to these questions is supposed to be ‘yes,’ then what will she reap on sowing the seeds of such an insignificant journey?

P.S. – A mother can reap a healthy harvest only when the seeds are nourished with virtues of strength and competence.

Picture credits: Still from the movie Tribhanga

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