'He gave me a chance to be his mother'

Pushpa Dravid, Bengaluru
Mother to: cricketer Rahul Dravid

He opened his eyes to the world, with cricket commentary playing in the background," claims Pushpa Dravid, about son and cricketer Rahul Dravid, recalling how the former India captain's dad walked in to see the infant for the first time, holding a transistor that was playing the latest score.


Pic/Satish Badiger

When Pushpa heard her first born was expected anywhere between January 11 and 14, she fervently prayed it would miss the Makara Sankranti or January 14 date. "I prayed that the child should be born before or after Makara Sankranti since everyone said it was not an auspicious birthday."

The Gods seemed to have listened, and Rahul was born on January 11, 1973. Time passed and the little boy who loved his bat became a formidable cricketer.

What didn't change was the relationship he shared with his mother, although now, he has a family of his own.

Surprising each other with gifts and clothes for festivals has never been a norm in the Dravid household.

Mother's Day is no exception.

"He gave me a chance to be his mother; that's the best gift. Material things will come and go. But Rahul is my son and will always be," she says adjusting the pleats of her handloom saree.

With more than 40 solo exhibitions to her credit, Pushpa, a painter, says Rahul's fame hasn't overpowered her identity as a woman and professional.

Born on January 23, 1941 in Indore to psychiatrist Balkrishna Sridhar Kale and homemaker Manorama, Pushpa was the youngest of four siblings. After completing her masters in Fine Arts from Indore University, she married SV Dravid, general manager with the Kissan Group, and moved to Bengaluru in 1967.

In the garden city, she juggled her career as painter and lecturer at the Department of Architecture at Bengaluru University while playing mother to her two sons, Rahul and Vijay. "Our aim was to keep our children busy with sports and studies so that they did not waste time elsewhere. Their father always let them do what they wanted, but demanded a first class rank," she recounts, petting her labrador in a comfortable but traditionally done up drawing room of their Indiranagar bungalow. "Neither son ever needed a tutor," she adds, proudly.

Pushpa describes Rahul as an affectionate son, who makes sure he keeps in touch with family even when abroad on tour. A book lover, he is an avid reader and fond of visiting places of historical interest.

Today, she acknowledges that relationships change with time. "You enjoy watching your children grow up.

When they are students, you support them. Once they have their own families, they cannot devote as much time to you. It is a part of life."

Nevertheless, being Rahul Dravid's mother, she says, is a matter pride. "When famous English cricketer Colin Cowdrey told me, 'I wish I had a son like Rahul', my eyes turned moist."