On Mother’s Day, be inspired by these mother-daughter duos who are going places

From folk tales to modern day stories, mother-daughter relationships have always featured heart-tugging emotional bonds. Even in real life, the same is true. A mother-daughter relationship often becomes stronger when they share commonalities, passions, and similar traits. 

Over the years, we have come across similar stories of mothers and daughters who make formidable pairs. This Mother’s Day, we bring you stories of inspirational mother-daughter duos who are inspirations for many.

Mrinalini Sarabhai and Mallika Sarabhai; Mallika Sarabhai and Anahita Sarabhai

Three generations of women - Mrinalini, Mallika, and her daughter Anahita have truly conquered several boundaries. Mrinalini Sarabhai who passed away in 2016 was a famous Bharatanatyam dancer, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award and Founder of Darpana Academy for Performing Arts in Ahmedabad. Her daughter Mallika Sarabhai followed in her mother’s footsteps and is an established Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer, and has performed in several movies and plays. Like her mother, she is also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Dance.

Mallika is also a renowned social activist and her daughter Anahita follows in her footsteps. She is the Co-founder of QueerAbad, an initiative to create community-safe spaces for queer people to explore their identities and sexual orientation. At 19, Anahita also spearheaded her mother’s 2009 election campaign. 

Neena Gupta and Masaba Gupta

The talented Actor and Director Neena Gupta broke many societal norms and defied convention when she decided to have a child without marriage in the 1980s which got tongues wagging. Just like her mother, Masaba Gupta is also outspoken and strong. At a young age, the artistic director and designer has emerged as one of the most successful fashion designers with her brand ‘House of Masaba’. The mother and daughter have faced unnecessary flak and judgements but the two always come out to support each other. 

Leena Sharma and Bhakti Sharma

In 2008, Leena and Bhakti became the first-ever mother-daughter duo in the world to have swum the English Channel. Leena grew up in Udaipur and is a self-taught swimmer. Apart from being her daughter’s coach, Leena is also a professional Kathak dancer. Under her mother’s tutelage, Bhakti is now an open water swimmer and has won the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award for her achievements. In 2015, Bhakti swam 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in the Antarctic Ocean at a temperature of 1°C, breaking the world record set by British open water swimmer Lewis Pugh and American swimmer Lynne Cox. She has also swum in all the five oceans of the world - Indian ocean, Artic, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, and Antarctic, and the seven seas. 

Saumya Pandya Thakkar and Shakuntala Pandya

This mother-daughter duo's creative idea is saving lives on the road. Saumya and Shakuntala designed India’s first 3D zebra crossings. Feeling strongly about pedestrian safety the two came up with this simple but effective idea. Starting out as an experiment in Ahmedabad, their idea was applauded by city officials. The 3D zebra crossings are now seen across major accident-prone areas in the city.

Yamini Mazumdar and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was defying stereotypes when she took up fermentation sciences and became an entrepreneur. The founder and chairperson of Biocon Limited, she is a pioneer in biotech in the country and she has been featured in the Forbes’ list of World’s Self-Made Women Billionaires. She stands as an inspiration to every entrepreneur.

Her mother Yamini Mazumdar became an entrepreneur at 68. She runs a first-of-its-kind dry-cleaning unit equipped with high-end, imported, dry-cleaning machines and a laundry unit. She and her five-member team used to work for more than 12 hours every day. It took time for the business to take off but she managed to become debt-free in a decade. She runs her enterprise with a team of 30 people - 18 women and 12 men - and takes pride in looking out for them as if they were her own, sponsoring their children’s education and taking care of their health and medical expenses. She celebrated the 20th anniversary of her business last year. The spirit of entrepreneurship is deeply ingrained in this mother-daughter duo.