Best gifts for mother from son

Back up her phone gallery and WhatsApp photos to her own Google account. Then use a free scanner app to photograph the albums in the almirah, page by page. Do all of it on her phone with her sitting next to you, so she knows where everything lives.

A free Google account holds 15 GB. If she's getting close to that, pay for a year of the smallest storage plan yourself.

Every mom has a list of boring jobs: the bank KYC update, the nominee form, the gas connection still in Nana's name, the health insurance renewal date. Sit with her, finish two or three, and put a printed copy of her insurance card and an emergency contact list in her purse.

Not romantic at all, I know. She'll still be telling her sisters about it for a month.

Clear one Saturday and drive her wherever she wants to go. The tailor, the jeweller for that clasp repair, the bank, her friend's place across town, the temple on the highway she never gets to. No work calls, and no checking the time.

Great for a mom who doesn't drive and hates having to ask.

Does she miss her sister? Book her a trip to her maayka or her sister's city, plus a cab to the station at both ends. Railways allot lower berths to women aged 45 and over when one is free, even with no preference ticked, but tick it anyway. Tickets open 60 days ahead and festival dates sell out, so book the day the window opens.

Every Indian kitchen has a milk tally on the calendar and a grocery list on the back of some envelope. This pad sits by the phone or on the fridge, and one button wipes it clean. No app, no account, so she'll actually use it from day one.

Onions for every tadka, garlic for every dal. If she cooks twice a day, she spends real time chopping and never even counts it. With this, it's a few pulls of a string, with no plug and no buttons.

Wash it first, then chop one onion in front of her so she sees how many pulls make it fine and how many turn it into paste. If she's devoted to her knife and wooden board, though, give this one a miss.

Are there still candles and a matchbox in her kitchen drawer for power cuts? Then this is for her. It zooms from a wide beam to a spot, which is handy when she's checking the inverter or the meter box. Charge it fully, give it its own drawer, and set a monthly reminder on her phone to charge it again.

If she wakes up with a stiff neck and blames the fan, check her pillow. It's probably flatter than a chapati by now. This contoured memory foam pillow supports the neck, and the small size fits a smaller frame. Tell her to give it a week, because memory foam feels strange at first, and keep the old pillow aside until she's sure.

Only buy this if her doctor has asked her to check her BP at home, and say that when you give it. The talking model reads the numbers out loud and averages the last three readings, which really helps if her eyesight is weak. Take the first reading together. Then stick a note on the box: sit still for five minutes, cuff on the bare arm, no talking.

Start with chai and poha in bed on her birthday morning, the one breakfast she never gets. After that, it'll hold her phone for video calls with the grandkids, or her diary and specs. Unbox it the night before and check that the legs fold and lock.

Nothing to charge, nothing to pair. It plugs into the socket by her puja shelf and plays mantras and chalisas grouped by deity. Get this Carvaan if her mornings start with aarti, but not if she's after her old film songs.

Plug it in before she wakes up, keep the volume low and start it on her favourite chalisa.

It sits over her shoulders and kneads with heat, right where the knot builds up after a day at the stove or the laptop. It comes with a car plug too, so Papa can borrow it on long drives. Start her on the lowest setting. If she has a diagnosed neck or spine problem, ask her doctor first.