Bengaluru: “How could she say something like this?,” asks an angry Tilova Ghosh, Creative Marketing Manager, Qicklo and above all, a working mother. And the reaction from most of the working mothers is the same, they are amazed. They are amazed that Shahid Kapur’s wife Mira Rajput at a recent gathering on the occasion of International Women’s Day spoke about feminism and motherhood and had this to say, ” I love being at home and love my child. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wouldn’t want to spend one hour with Misha and then rush off to work. Why did I have her? Misha is not a puppy. I want to be there for her. Seeing her grow can’t be quantified.”

Twitter and social media ever since has been flooded with open letters and opinions. Most working mothers feel that it is not fair on her part to equate their children with puppies. “Is she anything else other than Shahid Kapur’s wife, had she had an identity of her own, it would have been difficult for her to generalise. I work hard to be the professional I am, and I know how to balance both beautifully. I have my priority clear,” Tilova explains. In the same breath, she adds, “having said this, I strongly believe that it is a personal choice and shouldn’t be spoken so generally.”

Supporting Tilova’s angst, Julee Mitra, a part time lecturer in Cambridge Institute of Technology, Bengaluru says, ” I know how hard it is to be a working mother. I gave up my job after I had my daughter, but couldn’t sit at home after a year. I felt so wasted. I have a life and I need to do justice to that as well, apart from being a mother. As a mother, I have a right to decide without being judged for my decision. And not everybody is as privileged as she is, we all have to pay our bills and maintain a lifestyle for which both are needed to chip in. She is immature and grossly insensitive.”

Without contributing to the debate, Sandhya Kumar, a former HR, SDG Software, who is on a sabbatical says, “Guess her reaction was mainly for Kareena Kapoor Khan who plans to join work very soon, making appearances in fashion shows, strutting away like a yummy mummy.”