60 years

My father turns 60 today! Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

Looking back, we couldnt have had a better father. While other kids in our neighborhood and among are relatives found my father intimidating., for us, he was a friend. During those days we used to think that our father could do anything. The standard dialogue used to be "Wait till my daddy comes..." Be it either to threaten someone or get something done. I remember those days when we used to sit at the dining table and listen to his stories... stories like "Jack and the bean stalk", "Golden goose" was first heard from him.

One incident that my parents never cease to highlight is the time when I forced my mother to note down cigarette as one of the items to get during the monthly grocery shopping. I had wanted my father to smoke while driving, just like an uncle we knew. I had insisted that it looked cool!!!

Then, there was the time when I broke my hands when playing kabadi with him. The second time I broke my hands was when playing hide and seek with him :) Oh...Those were wonderful days. We used to look forward to the "Banth's"...since that was the time when all would be at home with no appointments. We used to play and go on long walks. There were times when we used to sit down for a game of cards and forget the time, until someone reminded us :)

Mentioning about time, reminds me of the high school and college days. My father was our alarm clock. He used to wake us correctly at whatever time we had asked him to. Even now, we all rely on him to wake us when we have to get up early for an appointment.

He has been around when we needed him, be it to reprimand or congratulate or enjoy an evening. It is not a surprise that both his grandchildren prefer him to anyone else now!!!