Father's Day

It has been raining since evening today. Living for months in my hometown now, my mind often runs down memory lane cherishing my childhood reminiscences. And, today the lovely Father's Day messages flooding the social media brought back an evening when neither internet nor smartphones had made their way into our lives. I was seven years old and my sister was twelve, and a pencil box that was designed like a cellphone had become an overnight sensation among the school kids that year. While mom bustled about preparing supper, we scribbled on our notebooks keeping a keen eye through the window on every scooter that took a turn at the end of the lane and approached our building. Dad had left twenty minutes back for the market with a promise to get us one such pencil box. A few kids in my class had bought it the previous week and the idea of owning it gave me thrills. However, minutes later when we had moved from our notebooks to mom's sandwiches, the clouds in the night sky broke into rain and thunder. The rough wind across our house forced us to shut all the windows except one through which we peeped out at the sudden and ferocious downpour. The thought of the pencil box had fled from our minds and we awaited the sight of dad's green and grey Bajaj Super. After a while, when the rain had slowed down and we had finished chanting every prayer we learnt in school, dad came home - his clothes dripping wet. And, even before he had changed, he handed us a plastic bag safely wrapped around a pencil box - that looked like a phone. He had not forgotten - just like he doesn't forget today to remind me of paying my taxes, paying my bills, booking my tickets, getting my PF and Aadhaar accounts linked - an endless list. Perhaps, not forgetting the box that evening was the easiest of the countless efforts he has silently made over the years to buy his family a smile. I never heard him talk about his troubles or his dreams until the day when I received my Engineering degree and he sent me a text saying - One of his long nursed dreams was to see me become an Engineer. That's how he is - that's how fathers are - selfless, caring, loving, and a silent, yet constant support. May every father shine with strength and happiness - May every daughter and son feel as strong as their fathers believe they are. Happy Father's Day baba.