Mom on a mission

Over the past few weeks, if you haven’t, even mistakenly, stumbled onto an Instagram page called Motherwithsign, one of the few patches of sunshine on the Internet, alongside cute videos of puppies eating watermelon, the question has to be asked — are you living under a rock? Her 72.3k followers don’t seem to be.

A page that stays true to its very straightforward name — Motherwithsign — it solely features Poonam Sapra, a 64-year-old mother, holding up various cardboard signs. A blue background, kind eyes and a gentle smile define each post. One of the signs read ‘Sit straight. See, this is why you get back pain’, and another says ‘God made mothers because he couldn’t handle your tantrums’. Even as I type this, I can hear those exact words in the voice of my mother. “It’s been quite a surprise to see so many people connect with my page so quickly. I think it’s mostly because of the relatability of all the posts,” says Poonam, a New Delhi native.

Although the page was started only in January of this year, Poonam has been winning at the mom game for ages, with Pranav Sapra, one of her two children, a witness. “We’ve been making jokes and having fun with each other, all my life. She’s always been my best friend, and her WhatsApp messages and funny remarks are golden. That’s when I figured that the world could also use some of her cheerfulness and joy in these murky times,” says Pranav, an Instagrammer himself.

With neither expecting the page to explode the way it did, the follower base count has only been on a constant rise since. “She’s a beacon of motherly love and the world’s coolest mom,” says Pranav, and the Internet couldn’t seem to be agreeing more. One of the comments under a post reads, “Thank you, aunty. I really needed to hear these words today”, and one thing is abundantly clear — Poonam Sapra is not just the world’s coolest mom, she’s also the mom for every lost soul scrolling endlessly on the interwebs. And Pranav is more than happy to share the love! Do yourself a favour and visit @motherwithsign on Instagram.

Fans’ comments 

• Had a fight with my mom today and looking at your post, I’ve realised that she was right the whole time and I should go and say sorry.
• You make my days so much better. Love you mummy Ji!
• Here’s one hug for my mom in heaven and the other one for you
• Aunty, you remind me of my dadi and look so much like her. I miss her as she passed away a year ago but seeing your account I feel that her pieces of advice are still close to me. Thank you so much.
• We definitely need you on the internet aunty. You make this place sacred.