Papa.

After a tiring day during vacations at Darjeeling, Soha, a seventeen year old, was back to the resort with her family. On their way back to their respective suites,

Soha: “I’m hell tired.  I want a good sleep.”

Soha’s father: “Do you want a spa massage? Come, get a massage done. This resort is known for it’s Spa. You’ll feel light.”

Soha: “No Papa, I’m fine. A soundless sleep would be enough.”

Soha’s father: “Let’s atleast check the menu out. We’ll then decide whether you’ll get one done or not.”

Soha: “Okay.”

In the spa reception area, Soha with her dad,

Soha’s father (with the massage menu in his hand): “Get the Balinese massage done for ninety minutes. It’ll be very relieveing.”

Soha (after a thought): “Okay.”

Receptionist(after overhearing the conversation): “This is the best gift a father can give to her daughter.”

(All smiles)

***

Like every daughter on this earth, I too believe I have the best Dad in the world. Like every daughter in existence, I too adore and admire my Dad.

It’s my childhood dream to become a person like my father. Not with respect to his profession, but with respect to his personality, the way he carries himself. Once we enter the big bad world and are burdened with responsibilities, it becomes extremely difficult to balance our professional and personal life. All of us have either been through, are going through, or in future will be going through a phase where we’ll find ourselves lost, unbalanced and unable to perceive where we belong. It’ll become difficult to prioritize instances in life, people in life. I completely regard my father for having managed everything so well. It gives me immense pleasure to sit with my father at night and talk to him, about anything and everything. We share humorous instances, serious ones and many more. It’s difficult to describe in words the happiness i get out of not sleeping and talking to him till late at night. He gives me life lessons coupled with instances from his daily routine. These don’t come to me as a so called “lecture”, its more of sharing rather than teaching. A friend in disguise of a father, he is.

A gigantic world awaits us all teenagers in life. At such a juncture, it becomes important to know how to confront and talk to people, people we meet daily, people we meet in parties, people we dislike, people we loath, people who seem irritating, people we love and people we care about. You’re not the same person with everyone in your vicinity. You’re a different person with your friends, a different person with your relatives, and a different person with your family. You should know how to behave and maintain an equation with each. Not everyone can do this. But if you can maintain a healthy association with one and all, you’re the best soul on this earth. My father is one of them. It’s his excellent, natural, flawless ability to talk to everyone, yet knowing his stand and self esteem. Perhaps, most of us fumble when it comes to this. We’ve lost friends we thought would last a lifetime, we’ve given replies to our seniors rudely. We’ve done so many wrongs things and expressed the wrong emotions at the wrong time, messing up our lives and others’ too. I am yet to learn this from my father. More than how much I trust myself to learn this, I trust my father to make me adept at this. A guide in disguise of a father, he is.

Life is full of drama. Ignorance is the only way to stay away from it at times. What happens when you’re wronged by a person close to your heart? Your sister, your uncle or maybe your bestfriend? How difficult do you find to get over it? It is very important in life to realize who matters and who doesn’t. Otherwise, you’ll become a part of the drama you despised. Ignore and accept. Have least expectations. These are some of the few life lessons from my father I treasure. He doesn’t state these in front of me like Facebook does with the help of quotes or Tumblr does with the help of pictures. He gives me inspiration. I learn these through his daily practices. I learn these through his daily life activities. An idol in disguise of a father, he is.

I am yet to become a person I want to become. I am yet to become a person like him.

Thank you Papa. You’ve always said, I make you feel proud. The reality is, you’ve made me what I am, and you’ll make me what I am yet to become.

Life Is After All Beautiful.