Mother's Day Special: Mum's the Word for our Authors!

As Oprah Winfrey rightly put it, Biology is the least of what makes you a mother. So for Mother's Day this year, IndiaBookStore asked several authors to share with our readers what makes their mothers special. And ta-daa! The response was truly phenomenol and deeply touching. IndiaBookStore thanks all the authors who took time out from their busy schedules and shared such tender thoughts with us.

So here's to the mothers – Happy Mother's Day!

Parul A Mittal, the author of "Arranged Love"

My mom had a flair for poetry. She would write small couplets in Hindi on my birthday cards. She was also good at debating and drama in her college days. I on the other hand, mostly studied during my college days at IIT. I was good at communicating and doing corporate presentations, but writing books for me happened purely by chance.

I had never planned to become a writer and even when I did decide to pen down my first book, I had no idea how it would be received. Believe me, it wasn't easy. But if there was one thing I was sure of, it was the desire to succeed and a drive to do something.

This drive, this aspiration, to do something and the confidence no matter what I can do it, is what my Mom ingrained in me. She never told me what to do, but she gave me the freedom and ability to make my decisions. Not surprisingly, my first book was dedicated and launched by my mother and father, who gave me the dreams to dream and wings to fly.

Parul A Mittal is the author of national bestsellers " Heartbreak & Dreams! – The Girls @IIT" and "Arranged Love" . Parul is also a mom to two lovely daughters – Smiti and Muskaan.

Virender Kapoor, the author of "The Rise & Rise of Jugaad"

I lost my mother when I was very young and by then I had not even thought of becoming an author. I think you value something you loved so much and you lost it for no fault of yours. Mother’s day therefore connects with me at a deep emotional level. At school I was one of those bright guys and every distinction or award that I got was appreciated by her immensely. Getting a good or an excellent..that is how it was those days…was something to be proud of and I would always share it first with my mother. Immediate reward was a choco bar or a small treat at a restaurant where both of us would enjoy a meal. By today’s standards these rewards were so tiny, but they were our moral boosters. That is what motivated me to work even harder. My mother never pushed me to work hard but her appreciation alone was enough for me, which made me self disciplined.

When I decided to write books, that self discipline of my childhood days came in very handy . People ask me as to how do I manage to run a management institute, conduct workshops and talk shows and also write books at a frantic pace. My answer is “ Self discipline and regimentation of mind”. My mother was largely responsible for this habit. "Whenever I have a book release I wish she was there to pat my back n give me a choco bar."

Mr. Vireder Kapoor is a prominent educationist, management practitioner, motivational speaker and a writer who addresses topics like motivation, leadership, success. IndiaBookStore had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Kapoor last year. To know more, you can visit his webpage.

Diptakirti Chaudhuri, the author of "Kitnay Aadmi Thay"

She taught me the lyrics as we sang along with a LP record of Shalimar. She took me to watch Yaarana straight after school. She still has bound volumes of Stardust from the 1970s. She preserves movie articles for me to read when I go home. At a time when Bollywood wasn’t cool, she was absolutely cool with me watching movies by the dozen. In fact, she told me the ones to watch.

Was she the reason I wrote a book on Bollywood trivia? Not really. Was she the one who made me fall in love with movies in the first place? Undoubtedly.

She's the biggest movie fan I know… aur khush kismati se woh meri maa hain.

IndiaBookStore and Diptakirtri, the Bollywood and Cricket triviamaster, go back a long, with his book "Cricket! All You Wanted To Know About The World Cup" being reviewed way back in early 2011 and then an interview with the man himself featured on IBS just last month. The Salesman by Day, Writer by Night also shared with us what went into scripting his recent success – Kitnay Aadmi Thay in an Authors' Exclusive.

Sumukh Naik, the author of "Age of Hiblisk"

One of the blessed aspects of being a writer is the potential to change lives across the globe. Mothers, help us realize and understand the value of this potential and guide us to be responsible with our craft. They are like the silent trees who with their very presence, bring innumerable blessings in our lives and in return ask for nothing. They guide every entity from their first breath. If humanity can learn to understand the love in the eyes of a mother when she looks at her child, then perhaps it can reach the goal it has been destined to. I wish every Mother – a very ‘HAPPY MOTHERS DAY’. May your divine blessings continue to sanctify and guide our every moment.

Sumukh Naik is a debut author and an HR professional. On the eve of International Women's Day, Sumukh's touching salutation to ''woman" deserves a special mention (be sure to catch it on his blog). Stay tuned into IndiaBookStore for a review of his debut novel – this month.

Jayanand Ukey, the author of "When The Signal Turns Red"

A mother is her child’s best friend. You may quarrel with her, argue with her, disagree with her, or at times even get angry with her but at the end of the day she’ll be the first to restore peace with you for she can never stay angry with her kids for long.

A mother gets worried about her child’s career. She thinks of making her child a doctor or an engineer or any other respectable profession she had dreamt of when she was a child but couldn’t fulfill it then probably because of ignorant unemployed village parents or the fact that she was a girl or some other hardships. Funny! we worship God Laxmi and don’t educate the laxmis of the society.

I fulfilled my mother’s wish when I became a computer engineer. I made her proud that day. However when ‘I used to write’ my mother didn’t understand the fact that why should I be concentrating more on writing when I was doing good in my IT profession. I once told her that I want to be a full time writer. At first she refuted the idea and was against it but then she understood me. She calmed down and told me to plan things properly, have a contingency plan – don’t give up your job in a hurry, financial stability is also important, once you have a good bank balance do what you want to do in life, I wish you to be happy whatever you do wherever you go. Bless you, she said.

Today she is no more but her memory nurtures me and guides to tread onto the path of self-fulfillment. Love you Mom…!

Jayanand Ukey is an IT professional with over a decade of experience in his field. That didn't stop him from writing three books, the first of which – When The Signal Turns Red – was published this year. To know more about the author, you can visit his website.

IndiaBookStore once again thanks all the authors for their lovely contribution!