Odisha Literary Festival: No guilt trip for mothers, says Kaveree Bamzai in her new book

Every mother from every section of the society, working or otherwise, has gone through the guilt trip. Many have succumbed, some have survived. Not giving in to societal pressures and focusing on work-life balance has been the mantra for many, including some popular personalities. The book ‘No Regrets - The guilt-free woman’s guide to a good life’ by senior journalist Kaveree Bamzai, released on the inaugural day of the 8th edition of Odisha Literary Festival here on Saturday, talks about the journeys of mothers of all generations. The book was released by Editorial Director of The New Indian Express, Prabhu Chawla and actor-director Nandita Das during the session on ‘Mothers: Yours. Mine. And Ours’. Through her book, Bamzai tells mothers how to live a guilt-free life. The book is a journey shared by some highly-accomplished women like Sudha Murty, Twinkle Khanna, Sania Mirza and her own experiences. A veteran journalist and mother of two boys, Bamzai always confronted questions on how she was able to leave kids behind at home and come to work. There would always be questions on who will take care of the children and many more. In course of work and life, Bamzai came across women who had to call it quits to devote time for children and family. “After reaching a certain phase in life, I felt why can not we women just be. Why do we have to work towards being super moms or superwoman. Why is there a burden of carrying the tag of a being a super mom,” these questions and more took me to take the plunge to write ‘No Regrets.’ Before the launch, Bamzai - a senior journalist, engaged Nandita in conversation about mothers and the perks that come with it. Nandita’s point of view included herself and that of her mother, both working women. The actor-director said growing up she always thought that men do the chores while women work, as her mother had a 9 to 5 job while painter father Jatin Das was home, taking care of the domestic chores. As for the actress herself, she travelled for her films with her toddler son while moms of his friends would come up saying they quit jobs because of the guilt. “Mere office ko toh naya CEO mil jayega, par mere bachche ko maa nahi milegi na,” were some of the worries that the young mothers showed, said Nandita. “Working mothers in fact set examples for their children. For daughters they are the direct role models as the girls see their mother focusing on work and home, and for sons they inspire them to respect woman and her independence,” she said. Talking about her book, Bamzai said “You can’t have it all, you should try it all.”