September 2021, Parel, Mumbai:

Mrs. Usha Shrotriya (now 63), a first-time grandmother, was in Mumbai enjoying her new grandparenthood also fondly preparing Gondh Laddus for her daughter-in-law, Apurva, who relished them for her post-partum recovery.  Usha ji, a devoted cook and learner had mastered the craft of making numerous traditional recipes and functional laddu’s from her mother and mother-in-law.  

It was a moment of compelling realization for Apurva, when her mother-in-law was not in town, and her stock of laddu’s was over. Being an urban working mother, she knew she may never be able to make them herself or pass the baton of traditional nutritious secrets in the family, and this made her a bit scared and guilty. During one of the family’s phone calls, she shared this feeling with her mother-in-law and her husband.  

Usha ji empathized with the challenges of a modern-day working mother as she had seen Apurva closely and wanted to do something to solve this problem. She discussed it multiple times with her son Yash, and the discussions soon became brainstorming sessions to solve the larger problem. Yash also started discussing this in his circle and in one of the discussions spoke to his old-time college friend Kunal and his wife Kamya. Both Kunal and Kamya also echoed a similar realization themselves and in their extended family.

Quickly, there was a realization that the issue extended beyond their own homes and was that of our current generation. With little more cause validation and research came courage and conviction, Yash and Kunal dove headfirst leaving their highly aspirational jobs to build a robust long-term solution to this problem.  The trio, with support of two young working mothers (Apurva and Kamya), set on a mission to preserve and restore the glory of thousands of years of traditional nutritious motherly wisdom. On their journey they learnt from many more mothers.

From Mama, with Love

That is how Mama-nourish was founded, where two friends joined a new grandmother and mothers of India, to bridge the gap between India’s rich culinary heritage and the demands of modern life.

“At Mama Nourish, we are on a mission to make traditional, nourishing recipes accessible and convenient for generations to come. We do this, by adapting recipes passed down through generations of Indian mothers, to the modern lifestyle using only natural ingredients found in a mother’s kitchen.”