I love him the most. He’s just more than a human being. He’s more than a friend to me. He’s someone I admire and respect. Is he God? No, He’s much more than that…someone I would like to hug when I’m happy and whose words can definitely get me out of distress. He’s that one person who can make me repent, the moment I get harsh at him. My attachment with him gets special when he gets me all I want but the one thing I yearn forever is his affection. His voice, when I listen to, over the phone takes me to a land which is alien to the word ‘frustration’. He’s that one and only person to whom I’ve stated ‘I’m grateful to you and love you lots’. He’s the best DAD in the world. I’m proud to say, none except my little bro has that special privilege to call him APPA. It is a license I possess, which neither requires a renewal nor has an expiry date.
I really mean every word in the above paragraph. In fact, I mean much more but definitely not able to express it still better.
I was sitting next to him in his bedroom asking him what to do with that 1000 bucks gift voucher I received from The Hindu. I suggested a LCD monitor which has been in scrutiny for many days. We had planned to get it a week back but somehow it got delayed. Now, he replied in the affirmative. He was lying on the bed and I sat inclined with my head on his back. A sound sleep beckoned him when I interrupted ‘Appa….you read my blog this morning right? How was it? You never told me??’ ‘Yeah…good’ he replied half-heartedly. ‘Appa, you remember what I told you last night?’. ‘Yeah I do’ he replied and said what exactly I had expected him to.
I had told ‘Appa…I’m really grateful to God for having bestowed me with such a dad…I still cant think of better means to thank you or Him than admitting my love for you’. You may wonder if I was cajoling him to get something done. No, it was a heart-felt conversation and my observations on him, the way he’s been to me over the years, his purity at heart and what not ??? These make me love him so much. As I whole-heartedly acknowledged, I cuddled him till he felt the warmth a little too much. It was also that night when I told him ‘Appa, I want to write about you in my next blog’. With that smile and two dimples adoring his cheeks, he nodded his head. ‘Will you wait and read it once I post ? I asked and he replied ‘Yeah....sure’. I jumped out of the bed, ran to my room and here I’m, writing this.
As a kid, I remember the days when we had gone together, for shopping. Those crowded streets have never really bothered him and he was as agile as possible. A walk for a few yards would push me to take a seat in one of those chairs outside a shop but the enthusiast he is, would be venturing into the next shop for purchase carrying the bags too. Those sugar-cane juices, softy cones would pull me towards them and when I express my want for a softy to my dad, he gets wild ‘That’s the problem with you and that’s the very reason why I don’t take you out for shopping. You keep disturbing me with these things. They are not hygienic and I can't get you one’. I would retort back ‘Please pa…please pa…they look really tasty….please’, I plead with my right hand locking his palms. Snatching away a 10 rupee note from his purse, he would let me venture into my world of joy. After me feasting over a softy and as we leave the shopping area, he would come close to me and ask ‘How was the ice-cream?’ and that’s when we renew our talks. ‘Superb….thanks a lot pa’ would be my reply and the standard dialogue he would utter after every shopping session ‘Hereon I won’t take you with me for shopping…you disturb me too much’. I let this into my right ear and let it go through my left ear.
There’re quite a few things that makes me admire him. His concern for everybody in our family, conviviality, non-interference in other’s affairs, his desire to learn new things have made me stay in awe of him. The keenness with which he shares with me, things that interest him leaves me in admiration of his wholeheartedness and on most occasions, my admiration of his charm overshadows the actual conversation and I fail to listen to what he had got to say. His reactions when I had been through tough times in life were so solacing and had left me wonder if he actually has more concern for me than what I have. A very supportive person on most occasions he is, but on a few, he expects more from me, rather I had failed to live up to his expectations.
I’ve always loved to irritate him. Despite my mom advising me not to find pleasure, it’s just been inevitable. My mockery of his favorite singers, actors makes him get mad at me. I keep ridiculing them and try my best to show them in poor light. Beyond a point, dad loses his temper and when I try to get near him, he pushes me saying ‘either of us should stay here….if you want to, I shall leave….please don’t come near me’. And that’s when I hug him and say ‘I was just kidding pa’. Other means by which I irritate is by imitating him wherein I visualize situations and reproduce the manner in which he would have reacted. He has always enjoyed my mimic and on many occasions, hugged me and given a pat on my back for my impersonation abilities.
As I post this write-up on a Sunday evening, I’m reminded of another Sunday evening when we both were at a restaurant and that’s when my friend called to inform that I had won 2 prizes in their college national tech fest. It was indeed a great feeling to see his delight and to me, that reaction of his meant more precious than that cash prize of 5000 bucks. Had we been at home, his reaction may have gone unnoticed in the sea of people but since we were alone together, I could enjoy his reaction and that was very encouraging. He’s one person on whose principles I would like to lead my life along. There’re innumerable things to learn from him. Our food habits are completely contrasting. While he hates onion and garlic, I love them and find food items without onion bitter. And this doesn’t stop here. While he’s very active, I admit, I’m little lazy with a laid-back attitude. While he gets tensed, I'm a tension-free person.While he’s quite an introvert, I’m an extrovert. And the list goes on. Though we’re polarized in our perception of most things, one thing we share is the love we have for each other.
I’ve pen down this write-up just to tell my dad ‘Love You!!!’
P.S: I take this opportunity to thank Tara for awarding me the Outstanding Blogger Award.