Yummy mummy?

It’s indeed as ridiculous and funny as it sounds, but a “yummy mummy” seems to be the in thing in Bollywood, what with Shilpa Shetty, Karisma Kapoor, Malaika Arora Khan, Lara Dutta, Twinkle Khanna and Celina Jaitly flaunting their svelte and flawless post-pregnancy figures with elan.

I’d cringe if someone called my mummy “yummy”, and my dad wouldn’t be happy either!

But that’s how the wave of change seems to be – at least in the urban milieu, where mothers sometimes look like an 18-year-old’s best friend. Sometimes, it’s hard to even tell who’s who! No, I’m not complaining as long as it doesn’t beat the purpose of motherhood.

It’s a wonder how these women manage to shed the excess weight, regain their pre-natal frames in no time and bounce back into business. How do they manage to divide time between work, baby and hubby; and how do they live up to the extended family’s expectations while also finding the time for themselves and their more-than-necessary grooming?

Welcome to the world of the country’s young urban moms, where the clamour to manage home, work, baby, husband, fitness, recreation, partying and travelling is nothing short of how our Bollywood actresses do it.

I say urban, specifically, based on a recent conversation with Shilpa Shetty, who has been winning all the wondrous titles – “Spalicious Mom” and “Yummy Mummy”. The co-owner of a wellness and spa chain, she told me how these facilities are most needed in the country’s tier-II and tier-III cities because women there feel apologetic and guilty about spending any time on themselves at all.

Is it any different in the urban set-up?

The avenues to be a “yummy mummy” are abundant. There are gyms, slimming centres, liposuction options and, yes, that Botox to take the age away. Then, there’s the domestic help to manage the home and the baby in your absence, but nothing, I believe, can take the concern of being a mother away from a mom.

Motherhood, as I believe – and Shilpa agrees too – is a universal feeling that transcends country, caste, class, creed and society. And they’re all superwomen, I tell you – yummy or those with a tummy!

It’s just this “yummy mummy” concept that gets me curious.

Not because I wonder how I’ll get it right when the time comes, but because the definition of my “supermom” is so different. And no, it’s no different for most of my friends and peers.

For as long as I can remember, my mother has been plump; she doesn’t wear sleeveless clothes, she doesn’t even know how to wear make-up, she doesn’t party and she doesn’t have a large social circle.

But, mind you, she is agile at almost 60. She wakes up early, manages the house despite having readily available domestic help, attends to a busy office schedule for eight hours a day, travels on the busy streets of Delhi and comes back home to manage the bills and expenses, to be clued in about her children’s whereabouts, her husband’s work, look after the elderly and listen to the help’s daily woes.

She may not be “yummy”, but she’s a mummy and, for me, that makes her the superwoman that she truly is. Cheers to her and all the mommies on Mother’s Day!