Memories of my mother Harmony reader Bansi Singh shares moments of love and nostalgia At Harmony Silver Awards last year, Sindhutai Sapakal — a simple woman from Maharashtra who has given a name and home to more than 1,000 orphan children over the years — impressed me tremendously. Watching her transported me back in time. From my home in Mumbai, I traversed 80 years into the past. I was once again in my father’s farm in West Punjab (now in Pakistan); a four year-old child secure in her mother’s lap. My mother Balwant Kaur dedicated her life to the empowerment of women. Her efforts began at our farm in Punjab and carried on for many years. Although just 5 ft tall, she had a towering personality. First, after getting rid of her own purdah, she rode horses before automobiles arrived and spoke to men on equal terms. My father Sardar Hukam Singh was tall and handsome with liberal views. He lived in Burma for a while around 1918. He was very supportive and encouraged my mother in whatever she wanted to do. We grew up surrounded by beautiful fields. Besides the farm he owned, my father had leased land from the British government. About a hundred mujara (labourers) worked for him and my mother would care for their families in various ways. From the window of our large house, I often watched her teach the children. Because of our education, we moved from the farm to a growing township called Burewoda Mandi nearby. My mother continued to work towards improving the condition and status of women. They were mostly uneducated, ignored and totally dependent on the mercy of men. The first important step was to do away with the purdah system by personally persuading the men to agree. The long ghunghat (veil) made women always look down — they never faced the world! A revolutionary and reformer, my mother had the courage and determination to face the conservative society of those days, especially in the backward places we lived. It was not easy facing social criticism eight decades ago. But she persevered in her efforts to rescue women from ignorance and slavery. Through education, she taught them to hold their heads high and stand on their feet. Together with a few other well-to-do educated women, she organised meetings in the halls of gurdwaras and temples. They donated their gold bangles and collected funds to begin a school for girls and women and made arrangements for them to learn music, harmonium and sitar. My mother ensured every woman was capable of choosing and voting for her own candidate independently during the next elections. When we grew older and needed high school education, we moved to the distant town of Montgomery (present day Sahiwal). Those were the days of the British Raj and we had to sing God save the king in school. With the help of S Hukam Singh — a friend of my father who was also a leader — my mother carried on with her work on a bigger scale. Of course things were better here as the people were more educated and open. As there was no college for girls in Montgomery, I completed my graduation from Ferozepur (Punjab University) in 1944. In 1947, during Partition, along with some relatives and friends my family shifted to a safe hill station called Mandistate near Kullu (in Himachal Pradesh) without realising that we would never return to our roots again. We lost everything and started a new life in Delhi after Partition. Soon, my parents moved to Ludhiana where my father set up a ration depot and cement agency. Unfortunately my mother had a road accident and suffered a brain injury. This prevented her from continuing her social activities. I married and settled down in Mumbai in 1950. My mother spent her last years with me and my family quite happily. She was 84 years -old when she passed away suddenly — but peacefully — without suffering from any ailments in August 1986. My mother had always taken the initiative to improve the condition of women so many years ago. Yet it makes me sad to see that even today, women continue to face physical and mental injustice.