Last month we paid homage to the mothers worldwide on Mothers day, now its Fathers turn to garner all the accolades coming their way from the kids. This father’s day I just want to reminisce some of the life incidents which are a mix of teeny-weeny sweet and sour moments centered around me and my father. These are the moments which simply flashed before my eyes on this father’s day and I thought to pen them down.
A stickler for the rules: Though my father has mellowed down with age but he was a terror for us when we were kids. There were strict rules and regulations which we were supposed to follow to a T; no sleeping after 7 a.m., even during holidays; “eat what is served on the table otherwise leave” proclamation, can’t befriend anyone of opposite sex and certainly no television-break in between studies.
Almost three decades ago when I was a small girl, I remember me “trying” to study in the room and my mom watching some movie songs on TV at the other side of the room. The room was divided into two spaces by a big wooden frame which touched the ceiling from the top and by 1 inch long wooden bars, fixed to the lower frame, on the ground. Since I was finding it hard to resist watching the songs I crouched on the ground and started watching TV. That day my father came little early than the usual from the work but unaware of his presence behind me, I kept enjoying the moves of the actors on television. After a few seconds when my father could not take my “shameful” behavior anymore, he startled me by calling out my name at the top of his voice. Well… what happened next is anybody’s guesses. Besides getting scolding I was forbidden to watch TV for ten days.
An ardent admirer of lord Hanuman: For as long as I remember I have never seen my father missed a single Tuesday when he dint got to temple to offer his prayers to Lord Hanuman. According to him it’s the blessings of his God that helped him achieve his goals in life. My father is a well-renowned doctor who runs his own establishment in the city, so you can understand how busy his life is; yet on Tuesdays, even if he gets free from work at 9 pm, he would still first go to the temple before taking his meals. As kids, I and my sister too would eagerly wait for our weekly trip to the temple as we would get to eat the delicious prasad, right after it was offered to the God. My father’s dedication towards his work and towards his “tuesdays-routine” is commendable.
During present times, when I go to my parents place, my kids too join their grandfather to his Tuesday’s trip to the temple just to enjoy the prasad, the same way we used to.
A great teacher: Just like most of the parents, my parents too were the instrument in imbibing the usual good habits, like speaking truth, respecting elders, work hard; in me. But one habit which my father inculcated in me from a very young age and for which I am really grateful to him is the habit of reading newspaper. As a young child I would see my father reading his paper along with morning cup of tea which piqued my interest too in it. Encouraged by my interest, my father asked me to go through the paper and write at least five headlines daily along with the meaning of any difficult words in it. He would say it will improve my general knowledge, language and grammar. When he would be back from work, we would discuss my work and have some interesting conversations around the headlines. I suppose right from my passing of an entrance exam of a prestigious institute in mass communication to all my fine work experiences which involve writing skills, is due to the fact that my father kept encouraging me to read newspaper.
He is there for me, always: Ok, so this one of the sweetest thing my father did for me.
Not knowing how my husband would react to the news of my losing the gold chain in the swimming pool, I called up my father instead. The moment I heard his voice over the phone, I started crying inconsolably and narrated him the whole incident.
“Beta please stop crying, it will spoil your health. I am transferring money in your account, you go and buy another chain, but don’t cry.” My father is no millionaire, but that’s the best solution he could think of sitting thousand miles away from me.
While I was on phone , my eyes suddenly fell on my lost gold chain laying comfortably under the sofa but that day the happiness of knowing that someone always got my back was more than the joy of finding the chain.
At present, my relation with my father stands at a very interesting point. Whenever we find time in each other’s company we just sit and talk- sometimes it’s about finances, my kids, political scenario in the country and most of all catching up on each other’s life.
And last but not the least, on this father’s day I honor all the fathers in the world and wish them a happy and healthy life.
This post is an entry for father’s day contest by kreativemommy