Today is the 6^th death anniversary of my dear father and coincidentally it happens to be Father’s Day. In this note, I share some of my thoughts on the role of a father (aka my father) in molding his children:

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about my father is the way he enhanced my language skills. He used to buy lot of books for myself and my brother, ranging from Tinkle, Champak, and even Tamil books like Ambuli Mama and Chandamama. There was actually a mini library in our house.

My father gauged my strengths accurately and never failed to correct me when I made mistakes. His life advice “So you are right and everyone is wrong” made me think from other’s perspectives too. The way he looked at life and his invincible spirit of never giving up made me look up on him more. Though during his last few days he became sober, he tried his best to remain active.

We all appreciate the efforts of a mother but sometimes tend to ignore the sacrifices of a father. Sometimes when I don’t have any company for outing, my father used to pity on me and will opt to accompany me. He could never bear to see me depressed.

Generally they say that the goodness of person is known only after his death; but I am glad that I always acknowledged the good spirit of my father. So whenever I think about him, the feeling of remorse is overcome by the gentle reminiscences of how I always remained his loving daughter. Though there is a stabbing pain sometimes when I think about him, which is only natural, it is compensated by the thought that I am doing my best to accomplish his dream on me: to become a competent writer. Sometimes though I feel that he had pampered me a lot and made me overconfident, I don’t deny that he has done it with a reason. When we don’t compare with others, life becomes easy. And that is what my father did. He just believed in my skills and helped me own my success where he felt he is just a small helping hand.

But my dear father..your role is more than a small helping hand; it is what that makes me work on my skills. I will do my best in life, and that is what that counts at the end of the day. I remember the day you once said in a childlike happiness that I will get Nobel Prize one day (but I am not sure in what category I will getJ), but I understood your wish in its fullest sense. As exuberant as you are in your dreams about me, the reference to Nobel Prize is just your expectation of me in succeeding in whatever I do. And yes, here I am, doing my best in making you happy in Heaven. My father, my hero will never be a cliché for all the loving daughters who dote on him.