He was lying in the ICU, my eyes welled with tears, and I
never had the guts to look him dressed up in the Hospital uniform. With constant
advices from relations around that I am not supposed to cry in front of him, I
gathered courage and entered into the room, to make him believe that we are all
strong and we have got him back. I sent my two younger sisters before me, and went
last.
On seeing me, his
face brightened, asking, "Neeyum vandurikiya da?" meaning, "You
too have come, da?" he never expected me to travel by a car from Chennai
to Madurai
overnight during my 5th month of pregnancy. I hushed up my words and turned my head away unable to forbid the tears. His care has never knew boundaries.
That 'da' is the unique word that affixes every sentence my dad speaks, whether
he appreciates or scolds. "It's so nice to see your college reports, da",
or "I never expected this from you,
da". Only the tone differs, but the 'da' sticks on..
He rose from the complication that seized him, to the
surprise of his friends, family and the Doctors too, purely because of his
self-confidence and composure. When I see people endowing their illness as an
excuse to their responsibilities, I would eulogize him for his discrete quality.
He never thought that girl children would be a burden; my mother would still
exhilarate the bliss on my dad's face, when the youngest daughter was born. He has qualities to be envied or to be admired, he has advises to be sought for, he has plans for everything.
One memory that I would carry lifelong is how he reacted to
my pregnancy craving. When I carried my second daughter, my husband went
abroad, and I would often crave for 'Biryani'. At that time, my dad was
promoted as Assistant Manager and despite his hectic schedule, when he came to
know this, he called me and said, "If you can't go over to get it, I'll
come by train, get you the biryani during the day, and return by night.. You
tell, me".. It may sound silly, but at that moment, I felt that no one can
replace my dad's emotional way of
dealing with his daughters.
Being one among a Clerk's three children never deprived us
from having the best dresses, the best snacks, best vacations, or the best
colleges. He made all his daughters attain double degrees, dauntlessly hunted great
grooms, gave up nights of sleep planning for their marriages, played along and
prayed for his grand-children and he still does. All his life gyrates around
his three daughters and their children and appa is either talking to us,
thinking about us or praying for us. He preaches by his life, a unique, divine quality
called "Selfless Love", in his own way!
Sigh. A doting father's love. Never can be replaced by anything in the world <3 God bless :)
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Thanks so much Pee Vee.. I always find it too difficult to comprehend my words when i write about him... Thank you so much for the blessings :)
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