Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan remembered his mother in an emotional post shared on Mother’s Day. Narasimhan credited his mother for his success and hailed her as the backbone of their family.
May 14, 2024 / 09:52 AM IST
Laxman Narasimhan took over as CEO of Starbucks in 2023
Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan shared a post remembering his mother, Bhama Narasimhan, on Mother’s Day, which fell on May 12 this year. Narasimhan said that losing his mother left a “big void” in his life, but added that her influence lives on to inspire him every day.
In his blog post, the global CEO of Starbucks remembered his mother as the backbone of their family – someone who had a “remarkable sense of humour” and a “sense of giving.”
“Despite all kinds of health issues, she lived life to the fullest. She taught us to look at the bright side,” wrote Laxman Narasimhan in his note title “My Mother: I am who I am and where I am because of her and our family.”
He spoke of his mother’s spiritual side – she was someone who, despite being a Hindu, taught her children to respect all religions equally. In Narasimhan, she instilled faith in all Gods. She visited Bethlehem on Christmas and sang Hanukkah songs with the kindergarten children she taught. In Delhi, she visited in Jama Masjid and in Mexico City – Basilica de Guadeloupe.
When she lived with Narasimhan in the US, they took weekend trips to the temple in Redmond and to the St. Anthony Church in Renton. She was the only Hindu in a Bible study group because “she loved the stories and their meaning.”
“She taught us about what living a life of duty meant. She moved in to live with us in 1997 and never left our side helping us raise two amazing kids,” wrote the 56-year-old executive.
Pune-born Narasimhan recalled how his mother walked the streets of Bombay to various scholarship houses while he studied in Philadelphia. “Our difficult financial situation did not stop her from asking me to go to study- and she watched as I sold my car and one of the three paintings my father left me to take a bet and go to America,” he recalled.
Narasimhan also spoke of how he and his mother lived alone for a large part of the year when Covid struck. He ran a company and cleaned the house, she cooked food for him. Together, they watched Indian TV serials and played Rummicube.
Narasimhan also remembered his mother as someone who defined resilience. In spite of losing two children and her husband by the age of 48, she never lost hope. “She never forgot her two children or her husband. She lived despite that with a sense of optimism and hope for the world,” he said.
The Indian-American business executive ended his post by remembering his last few hours with his mother. He said that a few weeks ago, he reached Beijing after a 20 hour trip. At 2 am, hotel staff woke him up to say his wife was trying to get in touch with him. “She asked me to return right away” – his mother’s doctors had said she would not make it past a few hours.
Miraculously, Narasimhan’s mother held out until he made the 11 hour trip back to the US. “She had waited for me. When I walked in, she suddenly became cogent. She was clear for six hours- with instructions on our life ahead,” he recalled. She passed away on March 24, 2024.
“I am who I am and where I am because of her and because of my family. It’s a big void. She lives on inside me. God bless her, and God bless us all,” the CEO of Starbucks concluded.
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