’He gave me a chance to be his mother’

Painter and ex-lecturer Pushpa Dravid shares how her relationship with son Rahul Dravid has not changed a wee bit over the years

'He gave me a chance to be his mother'

Painter and ex-lecturer Pushpa Dravid shares how her relationship with son Rahul Dravid has not changed a wee bit over the years

He opened his eyes to the world listening to cricket commentary, claims Pushpa Dravid, mother of cricketer Rahul Dravid.

When Pushpa heard that her first born was expected in the world anywhere between January 11 and 14, she fervently prayed that he or she should not be born on Makara Sankranti or January 14.

"I prayed that the child should be born before or after Makara Sankranti as everyone said it was not an auspicious birth day." The Gods seemed to have listened to her prayers and Rahul Dravid was born on January 11, 1973.

Time passed and the boy who loved bats and balls right from his childhood became a formidable cricketer. But the relationship between the mother and son has remained the same over the years though he has his own family now, shares Pushpa with MiDDAY two days before Mother's Day.

Gifting each other and buying clothes for festivals has never been a norm in the Dravid household. And Mother's Day is no exception.

"He gave me a chance to be his mother and that is the best gift. Material things will come and go. But Rahul is my son and will always remain so," says a smiling Pushpa dressed in a simple green silk sari. She adds that in Indian culture each day is a father's and mother's day.

With more than 40 solo exhibitions to her credit, Pushpa, a painter clarifies that Rahul's fame has never overpowered her identity as a woman and professional. Born on January 23, 1941 in Indore to psychiatrist Balkrishna Sridhar Kale and housewife Manorama, Pushpa was the youngest of the four siblings.
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After completing her masters in Fine Arts at Indore University, Pushpa got married to SV Dravid, the general manager at Kissan Group and moved to Bangalore in 1967.

In the garden city, she juggled between her careers as a painter and a lecturer at the department of architecture in the Bangalore University and bringing up her two sons Rahul and Vijay.

"Our aim was to keep children busy in sports and studies so that they do not waste time in anything else. Their father always said that do whatever you want but you should always maintain first class grades," says Pushpa sitting in a comfortable but traditional drawing room and proudly stating that both her sons never needed a tutor.

Rahul, she describes is an affectionate son, who makes sure that he informs and keeps in touch with his family even he tours abroad all the time.

A book lover, he is an avid reader and loves visiting historical places. A busy man now, Pushpa says that Rahul is still deeply attached to his parents and brother who is like a friend to him.

"In childhood if one of the brothers would fall sick, the other would not go out to play," remembers Pushpa. However, she agrees when children grow up relationships change.

"You enjoy the growing up of children. When they are students you support them. Once they have their own families they naturally cannot devote that much time. It is a part of life," says Pushpa.

Nevertheless, being Dravid's mother, she says is a matter of pride.

"When famous England cricketer Colin Cowdrey told me 'I wish I had a son like Rahul' it brought tears to my eyes," remembers Pushpa.