THE TIMES OF AMMA
       Inspiring Mothers One Day At A Time

I was diagnosed with a sensironeural deafness when I was 30. I was, then a mother to a 2 year old daughter. A routine ENT check-up during my annual summer vacation in Madras revealed that I had already lost 60 decibels in both ears and since it was a progressive condition there was little I could do. I could avoid oto toxic drugs, wear hearing aids, avoid stress, loud noises and carry on. It was not going to get better, I was told. The only memory I carry of that visit was

“You are so chubby and cute! No wonder your sister and you have dimples!” “You have such slim arms for your body” “You carry of sleeveless really well for “your kind”" “You have good child-bearing hips” Some of the few back-handed compliments that I’ve received all my life. Till about my mid-teens, it never bothered me. I had a pretty good childhood, barring being child molested by a family member and I had a boyfriend really early on, which did amazing things for my sel

Editor's Note: As the Times of Amma continues to feature 'Inspiring Single Moms', here is a lovely guest post from Anjana Dhanavanthan who writes about her inspiring mother Maheswari who was a single parent in India, at the time when divorces were taboo. Read her account of being brought by a strong woman who dealt with life's challenges with grit and resilience and zero drama. The loss of one’s parent is a matter of deep grief, but in my case it was met with an ‘Oh! That’

As It Happened Two Months to the Due Date Raaghavi : On the 17th February 2017 around 4 a.m, as I came out of the washroom after changing my clothes for the third time, he asked me what was wrong. I told him that I had been urinating from midnight without control. I never realised that my water bag had started leaking until he typed, ‘water-bag discharge during pregnancy’ on Google! It was only the two of us at our home and no one else to help. With no further delay, we rus

Editor's note: I met Anupama, as I meet most Indian Moms these days, on Instagram. The fact that she too was an expat mom of two like me, living in Europe made her a kindred spirit of sorts and I started following her feed. The first time we struck up a conversation, she told me that she was a Malayali from Kochi who did not speak Malayalam and that she only spoke English. Sensing my mystification she explained that she had been diagnosed with severe hearing loss at the age

Kamana Gautam is a mother of two – a tandem Baby-wearing Mom, a lactation counselor, a natural birther and a breastfeeder. With a massive following on social media, her posts resonate with mothers and others who react with love and comments. I’ve been following her for months now and I am so excited to feature her on the Times of Amma. Kamana, you are such an inspiration to Moms on Instagram. Could you tell us about your journey to the babywearing, breastfeeding Mom that you

They say that , "Being a single parent is twice the work, twice the stress and twice the tears but also twice the hugs, twice the love and twice the pride." I am perpetually in awe of Single Moms who literally do it all. I feel that we all could stand to learn from them and their journey. This week, The Times of Amma is happy to feature Asha Sarella. Asha is a Bharatanatyam dancer, movement therapist, and a counselor. She works with special needs children and adults, as a da

Editor's Note: As the Times of Amma continues to feature 'Inspiring Single Moms', here is a lovely guest post from Saumya Bala about a mother who was widowed with 3 children in 1970's India, and how she went on to raise her children amidst trying circumstances. 'Athai', as she was affectionately referred to passed away at the age of 88, this past June. Here is her story. "Athai" When I look back upon my childhood, I see that it sparkled with a fine collection of aunts and

They say that , "Being a single parent is twice the work, twice the stress and twice the tears but also twice the hugs, twice the love and twice the pride." I am perpetually in awe of Single Moms who literally do it all. I feel that we all could stand to learn from them and their journey. This week the Times of Amma is happy to feature, Udita Saklani , mom to an almost 2.5 year old lovely daughter named Varanya or Zuzu as she is called at home. Udita has been a single mo

They say that , "Being a single parent is twice the work, twice the stress and twice the tears but also twice the hugs, twice the love and twice the pride." I am perpetually in awe of Single Moms who literally do it all. I feel that we all could stand to learn from them and their journey. This week, the Times Of Amma is happy to feature inspiring single mom, Sanaa. Sanaa is a writer, diagonal hugger, and founder of Kidchen. An attempt to encourage the next generation to