The Father

Introduction

It was late in the night, people were celebrating Diwali, and the road was covered with the mist of sulfur. My wife was pregnant and she started feeling the pain, I took her to the hospital, it was raining heavily, and the light went off, we reached the hospital by 12:00 AM.

The doctor said that they need to do the operation, they took the signature from me, I was worried about my wife, then my child.

Finally, the doctor came, and told, both are safe.

I saw, my new family member. She was dusky, with her eyes tightly closed, she was a fairy wrapped in white cloth. I touched her soft fingers; she was in deep pain and strived to breathe after entering the new world, she grasped my finger and didn’t let me go. This is none other than my daughter Sita.

People were calling me a sinner to be a girl’s father! But I didn’t care, for me, Sita is my second mother! God created a man for some reason, so is women, if both are present human race will survive, think of a world without a woman.

Sita’s First Lesson

Sita started speaking, She screams, “mova”, “paghu”, she crawls towards me! She observes my action and repeats whatever I do. 

Once she noticed me having a cigarette, while doing the office work, she took a cigar from my box and kept on her mouth. 

After that day I quitted smoking,

I was reading the newspaper, now she started walking with her tender legs, suddenly she fell down, my wife took her on to her lap and pacified her, my Sita was questioning me why “paghu” didn’t care! 

She started falling down, every day I stopped my wife to pacify her, suddenly she behaved differently, she repeated exactly what my wife use to do! she rubbed her head and legs, wiped her tears and then started moving on her tender legs without any expectations.

Children’s are the best learners, they adapt to the world around them quickly. They take up things as it comes without analyzing! If I or my wife would have pacified her every time, she would look for us every time; my Sita learned her first lesson of life.

Other’s Perception of Sita

There was a recession, I lost my job, every day I returned home, without a job, but whenever I see my Sita’s innocent smile, I believe in myself, because of her trust and my responsibility towards her!

My relatives asked to visit an astrologer; I don’t believe in such things but went on my wife’s compulsion. He put the blame on Sita, he told “She is ill luck for you!” as she is born on an inauspicious time! 

I ignored his words and returned home. If any problem occurs in our life, it is because of our actions and not because of any one’s horoscope!

Within a few days, I got back my job. I proved that hard work and self-belief is a solution for every issue and not the paper houses.

Sita in School

Sita went to school, like a military man, now she doesn’t need me, she got into her school van and smiled at me just for courtesy!

Knowledge comes from experience and not from books. As a parent, we should direct them, with the confidence of moving forward.

We started watching English channels, whenever Sita was at home. But we did teach her, our native language. In this way, she grasped things quickly and she learned other cultures by respecting everything and everyone.

Sita Listening to bedtime stories

Once my wife was saying the epics to her,

She told, about the blue god her favorite, and how he fought for his wife.

When my wife, completed the narration,

She asked, “do we follow the same pattern of marriage as the blue god.” 

“Yesterday we went for uncle’s marriage, did the aunty also paid wealth for her husband as they did for the blue god?”

My wife told, “Yes dear!” it is the tradition!

“But I didn’t see the uncle breaking the bow for marrying her! Why is that so?”

“Why Devi didn’t suspect him when he was away?”

She kept asking the question which even the scholars couldn't answer.

We realized that epics are just the collections of various characters, a standard for our life that is why the epics are depicted by god in human characters, and to convey that even God is not correct always. But one can learn from history and can correct a standard for life.

Sita and the toys

The media Influences the children whose source of entertainment is televisions. 

What would happen, if we give a “Jhansi Rani” doll to a girl and make her watch a cartoon based on her life instead of a Barbie doll!

No matter educations have given confidence to the woman, but building’s strength comes from the foundation, not on what is being built on foundations.

I used to show her the movie which revolves on a woman’s strong character, it is better to describe a woman as a lioness rather than a flower.

This builds the child’s confidence right from childhood.

The same I shared with my son, we used to share Pinocchio and Jhansi Rani as bedtime stories to both my kids as there is no difference in gender.

Grown-up Sita

Now Sita is into college, she is a self-learner like “Arjuna”.

She differs from others She doesn’t wear the stuff which society says, and she goes out, boldly at night time!

She won several trophies in school and college in sports and my son too won trophies in various chef competitions.

Its time to do her marriage, the groom accepted everything, but they wanted her to be housewife, my Sita refused to do so, She just told “papa we also did our education and job with so much of effort, as a guy did, why should we always sacrifice our career, we shall do it when we feel it is required, we give importance to our career as we feel insecure and not to showoff!

Can’t we have even this right?”

Once again I lost to my daughter, Sita! I couldn’t reply, I just put my hand on her head and smiled. 

Now I am not worried about Sita, She is a brave and affectionate girl, who listens to my stories even today.

I hope every child becomes like my Sita and Mohan and every parent respects their dreams.

Every child is pretty, irrespective of their gender.

Every child is brave, irrespective of their gender.

Every kid possesses the right to select their profession and life.

One can't follow the footstep of society if one needs to see the happiness of the loved ones.

The role of a father doesn't stops by giving birth, it continues till death by taking up various roles of friend, sibling, mother, teacher and at times philosopher the angry and love both resides in the iron heart with miser phrases.