“My mother and neighbouring mothers” painted by 9 year old Anujath Sindhu Vinaylal from Kerala, India.
“The painting titled ‘My mother and neighbouring mothers’ is set against a rural landscape and portrays mundane life. The burst of colours brings out a sense of certain beauty in everyday chores undertaken by the painter’s mother and other rural women.” (Gopi Karelia).
“[In 2016], then nine-year-old Anujath completed the painting with no intentions of submitting it for any competitions. He had done it purely out of love for his mother.
However [in 2019] his father, Vinaylal decided to participate in an international drawing competition conducted by Shankar’s Academy of Art and Book Publishing in Delhi. The result was announced when his mother, Sindhu, was alive. However, by the time certificate and medal arrived, she had passed away from a heart condition.”
It is a tender and loving tribute to his mother and his neighbouring mothers, revealing the communal nature of mothering, and of how any community actually works. Invisible tasks are completed for the common good, and we can all do well with a renewed appreciation of this in the warm glow of Mothers Day.
For more read “Days after Mother’s Death, 14 year old Kerala boy wins Global Award.“
