Touch !

Few days back I read a book on “Touch”. I already had the idea, how wonderfully touch works, from my personal experience, but this book gave me the scientific insight to believe those experiences and feelings. How and why messages work wonder in certain situation was always mystery for me. The only thing I knew was it feels good to be touched and to touch.

I am used to getting a lot of touch since very early childhood. My mother is very lovely woman, her way to show her love and affection was to touch and that touch is an was something for which I can loose any thing, in this world. My mother’s touch used to be so gentle , loving and caring that some times I would act as if I was sick and in pain. what she would do is just put her hands at that place, stroke my face and body ,and that was so magical that I do not know from where , but I would get world’s energy running in my body. It doesn’t matter for her if some one is her own child or someone else’s child, her way to sow affection was to greet and treat people with her gentle touch and smile. when we used to come form outside, smudged with sweat and dust, the first thing she would do was she would wipe our face with a corner of her saree(anchaal).let me tell you , back at home I never traveled by car or any transportation which had A.C. The main medium of transportation was the public bus or an auto and traveling everyday in that was not easy task. Same with other kids of our age, when they would come to our home, she would do the same thing. It always amazed me then and now that after that touch where would my tiredness go away! At that time I just took her touch for granted. Her touch consisted of different types. Some times when our hands are dirty or we were busy in studies, with our hands engaged, she would also feed us a bite or two, even when we grew up a lot.

I have seen many mothers, and I am sure all of them are as affectionate as my mother but there is some thing which I have noticed in some mothers which always made me surprised. Most of them show their affection of touch with their kids only when they are very small. Once kids grew up she maintains a certain distance.

The other day I was listening to a radio program in which they were talking about, how after certain age mothers should keep some distance from her kids to let them grow. The logic being was, so that the kids would not be confined and too much dependent on their mothers. That physiologist also talked about that, kids who are touched a lot by their mothers can develop autism and if the child is already suffering from Autism, this touching can increase it more. They loose the ability to mix up in the society later. I was amazed, as what kind of theory was that. Never heard of that. Their logic made me very quizzical about certain things. And with a heartbeat I remembered my mother and her touch. My brothers or I never had to suffer autism.

I have no idea how to link all these dots to fit in my personal experience which I have with my mother’s love and affection. I think mother’s love and affection brings security and strength inside. I wonder how the mother’s touch or her immense love can lead the kid to Autism. I could not fathom even one day when our mother didn’t treat us a like a tiny kid at some point, for may be some silly reason, but it was very important for us.

Now I have grown up so much live so far away from my dear mother, I miss her, I miss her care, I miss her affection and especially I miss her touch.