If only the sons could read his father’s mind!
The first ever letter I received from my methodical father was a sheer advisory. That was in 1980, when I left my parents and others in Delhi to join a new job in Bhopal. Landline phones were few and far between, and mobile phones we had just heard of. Exchange of letters was the […]
Father overrides his strict order
I was often admonished for my nocturnal ways; however, one day my father how soft he was inside. My nocturnal ways: Something reflexive in me prevents following the universal precept of ‘early to bed’. For my nocturnal habit, I drew flak perennially that began in my teens with almost daily admonitions from my father. I […]
An angel who loves to play with water
Our daughter’s plan to stay with us for a month along with her 3-year-old sent all three elderly inmates at home—my wife, my father and me—to action mode. The fledgling, overactive boy was replete with highly explorative spirits. Except while in sleep, his nimble fingers reflexively experimented with anything accessible in the kitchen, wardrobe, fridge, […]
Can I have just a little more please?
Some years back in his hunt for residential land in Dehradun, my uncle set his heart on a far-flung rural site close to a ravine. The kith and kin did much to dissuade him and settle for another plot close to the city that was available at a marginally higher rate but the resolute uncle […]
Unnerved by the idea of separation
Memories of parents linger when the feelings were not just skin deep. Remembrances haunt me as I see my 88-plus father admitted to the ICU of a hospital near my residence in Delhi for over a week, or when I think of the ordeal he is undergoing. So integral to me in the preceding six […]
His benevolent soul continues to bless us
Each item in my father’s room triggers a chain of fond memories, overwhelming me. This happens each time I go upstairs to my dad’s room. I am disabled and can’t proceed any further. Pangs of separation can be more intense and prolonged when one’s bonds with the deceased are deep and not just cosmetic, I […]
Move alone, others shall follow suit
The shrinking water level of the only tank in the hilly hamlet meant leakage in the supply line somewhere or blockage at the source due to debris accumulating in the storage, some 2 km uphill. The village folks apprehended that the dilapidated stony lid there had been damaged warranting an early replacement. But none dared […]
Eliminate the Unwanted, Make Space for the New
As with a container, fresh ideas can be accommodated in the mind if the trash is emptied. A monk appeared at entrance of house. The lady thought, the monk should return happily from her doorstep in the New Year. She went inside; and as she was about to pour sweet rice into the container of […]
Magic that friendly words can create
There can be no better remedy in sickness than a friend. Life can become an unbearable in the absence of friends. Immersed in fond memories of my father who left us two years ago this day, few angelic words, addressed to me in those melancholy days, tease me out of thought. And I emerge invigorated […]
Say Hello and start a dialogue
World Hello Day falls on 21 November Salutation or bowing to someone in respect doesn’t imply surrender or servitude. It is only an expression of regard for the divine power inherent in the other person – indeed in all of us. Our belief in the Almighty and submission before Him imbues in us enormous capacity […]
Parenting is not a kidding
A nice successful businessman does all he can for the perfect grooming of his sons who gradually come off and establish them. As age begins to tell on the family patriarch, his sons no longer need him, rather create conditions that the old man is totally alienated and unwanted. In desperation, the old man abandons […]
Can I have just a little more please?
Some years back in his hunt for residential land in Dehradun, my uncle set his heart on a far-flung rural site close to a ravine. The kith and kin did much to dissuade him and settle for another plot close to the city that was available at a marginally higher rate but the resolute uncle […]