I remember walking with Ma and Dad after dinner, mainly during the summer holidays.

My main mission would always be to take a tour of society as soon as possible. And why not?

Near the gate, there would be my favourite “ice cream wala bhaiya,” from whom dad would buy an ice cream for me.

Each night, I would get this incentive if I would finish my food and go for a walk.

But many times, we would get late, and the ice cream boy would go back, not because we started late but because my mother was exchanging talks and contacts with the women of the society, on our way to the gate. And my expression was for Maa; let’s hurry up na.

Why do women in society approach her, smile at her, and hold her hand? And they were thanking her, with wide smile. And on the other side, I would pull the hand to leave the conversation. Why do they have to tell her, “Bharti ji, the makeup you did made my day very special,” and share more numbers of their relatives with upcoming weddings with her, wasting our time?

And at the time, all the kind gestures of others and my mother’s accomplishments seemed like roadblocks, delaying my ice cream.

I was too young to understand, I never knew that those appreciations of my parents’ hard work were actually the reason they could afford my ice cream. Now I can relate to how satisfying it is to be able to add value to someone’s life, and at the same time, I understand the importance of the hard work our parents used to put in so that they could provide us with everything we deserved.

Therefore, whenever I go for walks now in the same neighbourhood, sometimes with Maa, I let her take her sweet time to receive compliments; my ice cream can certainly wait or can be ordered online!