Musings on Father's day
Mother is always there for you, but father is there when you need him. When I was about five, I was always afraid of the strange noises the palm tree, opposite to the house where we lived in Sholinghur, used to make. The intensity of fear was directly proportional to the intensity of darkness. One day my father took me to the base of the tree and showed me how the noise emanated when the wind blew past it. It is not the palm tree that is the culprit, but the wind. Gradually the fear began to evaporate. What I still after all these years appreciate and adore in my father was his strength, both physical and mental, as well as his devotion and surrender to God. It is a pity that I turned out to be a sceptic, if not an atheist. Whenever I was down with one ailment or another, he was always there praying by my side when I woke up in the middle of the night. Seldom I saw him cry in all my life. Of course, we used to have our unending arguments about everything and sometimes based on principles, and sometimes just to provoke him deliberately, I used to oppose him and argue with him. Like every parent, he spent so much on my education and felt proud at my academic successes. Unfortunately, he was not there to see me earn my highest academic degree. Unlike now, in those days, the appearance of father means being on good beahaviour. Again unlike nowadays, father was
always addressed in plural, never contradicted even when wrong! There are no shortcuts to fatherhood. Personally, I learnt a lot from my children as they might have from me.
Fatherhood is joys, fatherhood is sorrows
Fatherhood is laughter, fatherhood is tears
Fatherhood is affection, fatherhood is hate
Fatherhood is arguments, fatherhood is acceptance
Fatherhood is obedience, fatherhood is rebellion
Fatherhood is lies, fatherhood is lessons
Fatherhood is punishments, fatherhood is rewards
Fatherhood is pride, fatherhood is humilaition
Fatherhood is stories, fatherhood is glories
Fatherhhod is actions, fatherhood is reactions
Fatherhood is games, fatherhood is fun
Fatherhood is bonding, fatherhood is love
Regards! - mOhana
Comments
Lata
Mon, 2009-06-22 22:39
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Very thoughtful! Couldn't agree more!
I do have a question for later.
jayamohan
Mon, 2009-06-22 23:43
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Child is the father of man!
My father never differentiated between sons and daughters! Imagine that was 50-60 yrs back! He always encouraged us to travel alone during vacations, gave freedom to choose our studies...I have a lot more to list. He introduced us to playing cards which I feel is an intelligent game than gambling! I've seen many people not allowing children touch cards at home but it is very good for our brain- that's what my experience says!
Lata
Tue, 2009-06-23 17:52
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Talking about fathers, always tends to make me sad. May be, because, mine passed away when I was in high school. And, when I feel somewhat sad, I try to think of funny things that happened in my family.
One day, a mouse came into our house. "A" freaked out and started jumping up and down on the bed. "B" couldn't stop laughing at the sight of A's reaction. B realized that something had to be done quick to prevent the mouse from scurrying into the kitchen. So, B grabbed the broomstick, and whacked the mouse dead. Problem solved. Can you guess who A and B were?
Jayaji, your story is very different, unlike the usual ones. 50-60 yrs back, sounds more like my grandpa's era, who was and still is exactly the opposite. He treated girls like delicate darlings, and kept them all indoors, marrying them off when they were only 18/19.
He was shocked when he found out that I traveled alone with a baby from US back to India. He still does not understand the "need" for women to work. But, he is the most gentle soul that one can find in a grandpa, and happens to be the only father figure in my life today!