’Kids at school ask me if they can meet Ashish’

Sumitra Nehra will have you know that it is her background as a disciplinarian at school that has served her son, fast bowler Ashish Nehra, well. But it wasn't always like that.

Sumitra Nehra, New Delhi

Mother to: Ashish Nehra, fast bowler with the Indian cricket team

Sumitra Nehra will have you know that it is her background as a disciplinarian at school that has served her son, fast bowler Ashish Nehra, well. But it wasn't always like that. A gentle smile brightens her face as she recounts how she went from being a small-town girl, who grew up with a gang of siblings and cousins in a joint household in Najafgarh to the Delhi-based mother of a bowler with the Indian cricket team.

Pic/ Rajeev Tyagi

"I was a naughty child," she laughs, adding that she was fond of her siblings. Graduating from Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (SPM) college, she completed a BEd and teacher training course after she got married. "Women in the family didn't work at that time. I was one of the first to take up a job as a teacher, and my husband has always been supportive."

Married early, Sumitra says, "We didn't know much about the world then. Girls were usually shy and didn't talk much. But I was lucky. I was the youngest in the family, and my parents never differentiated between the boys and girls. I studied, and went out often with my bunch of girlfriends." A college topper, Sumitra was the bright one at home, and her interest in academics continues. She teaches Sanskrit at a women's school in the capital.
Fond of Hindi films, Sumitra calls herself an avid Dharmendra fan. "In college, we were not allowed to watch movies but I managed to sneak out and catch a few." Movie-love was the only option available to girls at the time, she whispers shyly. "Looking at men or falling in love was not considered good behaviour, and I did not want to hurt my parents."

Happily married now, she spends most of her time reading spiritual literature, teaching and visiting religious destinations with friends and family, Sumitra says, squatting on a diwan flanked by a crowd of sparkling cups and trophies her son has brought home. "Ashish is famous now and it feels nice when kids at school ask me if they can meet him. But our life has not changed. There are times when there is lot of media pressure, but we try to strike a balance and give Ashish his space."