To sympathise with someone.
And/or to make light of a situation.

Mothers, as we all know, are very important people. It is derived from an Indian language - a traditional way of saying "No Mum!". In the case of this saying, "Mum"/"Ma" is in place of the person's name, who is being sympathised with. To signify at the time of the person's annoyance/irritation/upse tness they are the most important person around.

The antonym to this phrase is "Haa Ma!"

To sympathise with someone.
And/or to make light of a situation.

Mothers, as we all know, are very important people. It is derived from an Indian language - a traditional way of saying "No Mum!". In the case of this saying, "Mum"/"Ma" is in place of the person's name, who is being sympathised with. To signify at the time of the person's annoyance/irritation/upsetness they are the most important person around.