My husband works in a leading MNC, so his lifestyle is busy and exhausting to say the least. We would mostly never have family holidays, and I missed seeing newer places. So when my son Shiv turned two, I decided to start travelling again – only now, I wasn’t alone. Shiv and I would pack our bags every three months to visit an unexplored place. I was responsible for Shiv during and after the holiday – no matter what the terrain, his safety was the most important thing for me.
The only constant worry for me was if I was providing him the right food, and most importantly, the right kind of water. While I could carry powders and packaged food, water was something we had to obtain at the location we were travelling to. It wasn’t possible to boil water while on the trip, and I did not trust the hotel staff to boil it properly (I feel that water can only be purified properly if boiled for 5-10 minutes).
As for the local brands selling water, I had always believed that they were not selling pure mineral water as the distillation process was questionable, as was the environment in which it would have been processed – and that wasn’t the best option for my child. Hence, I was never convinced to buy local brands.
Because I was the one with wanderlust, every trip I would worry about the choices I made for Shiv. A mother’s guilt is something that haunts us moms the most – in every phase of life, we end up blaming ourselves!
In my 2 years of travelling with Shiv, I had vested my faith in the water my mother had trusted when I was growing up – Bisleri. And when the opportunity to visit the Bisleri plant came up, I was excited! Not only did I have a chance to learn if I had been making the right choice, I also had the opportunity to see how clean and hygienic the environment in which this water was being purified was. My faith only grew stronger.
Our tour through the 10-step quality process made me understand how every bottle in each pack is safe to consume. Each bottle of water undergoes 114 sub-tests that ensure that the water we consume is safe, pure, and full of important minerals that our bodies need. Among the important steps that ensure the water’s safety is ozonisation – the smallest, minutest micro-bacteria in the water are killed. The water is then re-infused with minerals like magnesium and potassium, which makes it a little sweet to taste.
The safety norms to enter the state-of-the-art factory were vigil – we wore gloves, shoe covers and hair masks just to enter the premises! In our interactions with the on-spot inspectors, we were assured that any automated error would be sorted out manually. The most impressive part about this was how open and transparent everything at the plant was.
While having a casual session with the mothers at the venue, the conversation of washing water bottles came up. I was guilty – how many times had I just washed it with soapy water and not applied an elaborate process of cleansing it with a brush and hot water! I don’t claim to be the ‘perfect’ mom, but I am an informed mother who learns from her mistakes. I like to make decisions that are in the best interests of my child.
So, post this visit, I have moved to incorporating Bisleri in Shiv’s everyday life. Instead of worrying about whether the domestic help has scrubbed his bottle clean, I give him a small bottle of Bisleri whenever he goes out and I’m assured that he is safe from any water-borne diseases.
Every mother is unique just as her child, so many of us may not agree on the different aspects of bringing up a child. But I urge all mothers on this platform to make informed decisions. Book a site visit and go to the Bisleri plant – see the process for yourself and get your queries answered by qualified professionals, and then make the best choice for your child and your family.
I, for one, can safely say – Har Maa Maanti Hain Ki #HarPaniKiBottleBisleriNahin!
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