Fantabulous Amazing Tactful Heroic Exemplary Reliable
These are not mere adjectives I am randomly using. I took a minute to think of words that suit him particularly. I am not one of those who will argue with you saying, "No!! My father is the best in the world!"
All fathers are best (unless they are criminals portrayed in shows like Crime Patrol) .Yours is best for you, mine is best for me, as if carefully handpicked by almighty. Sadly, Dads are under-rated. All songs are about mothers, all fights, all discussions about sacrifices are for/against mothers. The world doesn't do justice to the Dads at all.
Little children love to think of their Dad as superheroes. If you ask me, I will not choose Superman, Batman, Ironman etcetera. Nope. I would choose Heimdall from Thor to describe my dad. Just like Heimdall guarding Asgard continuously, my Dad has been a gatekeeper for me and my sister for years - calm, all-seeing, always thinking ahead, planning for only our benefit, fending away trouble, always on duty, not getting enough credit for what he does. (Mom is Loki :P hehe)
When I was little, our Dad was posted in a different city for few years. Each time he travelled, I would gift him little, silly souvenirs and say ''Remember me, Baba, by looking at this" (I am a bit dramatic) and he would smile and take it with him and also bring it back as safely as he took it. I used to run my own personal bank with him too (still do!) in which he used to be the sole customer. The bank manager/owner (me :P ) would force him to take a loan of Rs.5 to Rs.10 for his daughter's impending wedding. Next day onwards, the bank (guess who) would start harassing this sweet, simple customer and the loan interest would itself grow to Rs100 the first day, then Rs.250 the next day and so on without any head or tail. Customer would give bribes like Kurkure and Dairy Milk Crackle to keep the interest rates in check!
I have eaten so much Kurkure in this life that I am bound to add a little masala to the next lines. 90% truth, rest :my over dramatization.
My dad has (had) many siblings. Growing up, their lives were tough. Too many mouths to feed, too little to share. Anyways, my great-great grandparents were true visionaries. They knew the value of education. The kids gave their all to whatever they could study. Most of them became renowned professors later in different fields.
My dad was (is) the Aryabhatta of that bright bunch. When he studied whatever was there to study in our ancestral village, he set out on a long and risky journey alone, with few pennies, a metal suitcase full of books, one extra pair of clothes and a carefully separated pair of shoe (his priced procession! That's where I get my shoe love from maybe), not knowing where life will take him. With many ups and downs, he continued to shine in math and there were people who were noticing. Few opportunities went down the drain due to lack of money. He kept going. He did his Doctorate, got married (lucky Loki lol), went on to hold prestigious positions in prestigious institutes. Thus a boy with dreams became a Researcher to Professor to Professor Emeritus in Mathematics. And not only Math, he headed researches for Computer Science, Meteorology Disaster Management etcetera, worked with ISRO, wrote books, guided many PHD students as well. I've seen how happy and contended people are after talking to him. (It's almost like hypnosis) I wish that gene is in me and my sister too.
I realized the enormity and importance of his achievements very late in life. Everywhere I went, there would be someone saying, ''Oh, you are Dr. M's daughter, How is he, He helped me in this and that.. Kindly send my regards".
And those moments made me very very proud. He is not just a Dad, he is my student, my sous chef, my face pack buddy, my dance or song partner, personal photographer - he has always been a friend I can say anything to. His handwriting is worse than a Doctor's (it's like an ant was drowned in ink and then asked to walk away on paper!), he has 5 Facebook accounts: none of which he remembers the passwords for, and he is the greatest love of my life.
Go on, say something good about your Dad too and make sure he knows what you said. Let's start celebrating Dad's everyday!
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