Of Fathers & Daughters

From the time I started posting my blog on the weekends, I have come across more special occasions than before. This week, of course, is Father’s Day… With kids scrambling to make or buy gifts for their dads, mothers breaking their heads trying to figure out what to get their husbands, and dads enjoying the limelight, Father’s day comes and goes with a lot of hullabaloo. And as the joke goes, many dads (here) end up with one more tie to add to their already colorful collection. This reminds me of an episode from The Cosby Show where Bill Cosby brings out a box full of weird gifts he has received from his kids. Take a look :-D.

Father’s Day wasn’t a thing at all in the 80s & early 90s in India and I believe I was introduced to Mother’s & Father’s days in my teens. Those days, I would make or buy small gifts and greeting cards for my parents, but today it has come down to a wish over the phone. Like I have mentioned many times before, do we really need a day to celebrate parents, friends, love? I don’t think so. But anyway, since it Father’s Day today, this post is dedicated to all the great fathers out there.

I have always heard that daughters are their father’s pets and that girls are closer to their fathers. Do you think so? In Of My Mother’s & Daughters, I had said that even though there’s no ‘best friends’ concept between my mom and I, our bond is unique. I think that’s the same case with my father too. We have had our fights (read as scolding sessions that involved Maths), our funny moments, some serious conversations, and of course, the times when we gang up on Amma (we enjoy it more now than before).

Apart from the usual childhood memories involving my father, one that is fresh in my mind happened soon after he bought his first car: a white Maruti Omni van. He had stopped at a petrol pump and had stepped out for something when out of curiosity, I changed the gear into neutral. The car starting moving and I had no idea what to do… and my dad came running and pulled the emergency brake I think. I don’t remember ;-). I am just glad that he didn’t scream at me, the car wasn’t on a slope and that it wasn’t attached to the petrol pump. There are other memories involving my father and cars, especially those that happened after I got my driving license. He would allow me to drive on highways, open roads with relatively low traffic and though the drives started smoothly, they ended with screaming, frustration and me finally stopping, sometimes abruptly and refusing to drive any more. My worst experiences were at the numerous toll booths on the Coimbatore bypass road; every time I had to slow down and stop at the booth, I would have trouble switching gears and changing speeds. The jerky first gear starts are probably what has given me an aversion to geared vehicles and a love for the automatic vehicles I have been driving for the past 15 years. Anyway… my father now has an automatic vehicle that I may get to drive (upon his discretion), during my next visit ;-).

Regardless of whether we converse everyday, disclose secrets, or simply have very formal conversations, all I have to say to my father is, “I smile because you’re my father. I laugh because there’s nothing you can do about it.” – Unknown

To ALL the great fathers out there: You are special, not just on Father’s Day, but on every single day!!! Happy Father’s day, today and everyday :-).