This happened almost a year back when my friend was newly married. Since they stayed nearby, I used to visit her often.


After a few of such visits I noticed that their house was notably silent always and her husband was conspicuously absent all the time. I once brought up the courage to ask her whether everything was fine in her married life. The ‘just married’ tag was still hanging , I mean the mehendi in her hands had not faded.

She told me everything was fine in a way which I felt was to provoke me to cajole her into revealing something. But I let it go. As days passed and it became almost 6 months after her marriage, she decided to open up to me. Hers was an arranged marriage , which was ‘arranged’ and done within 2 months of her meeting her present husband. They never got time to know each other, their parents were sure that since their horoscope matched, both of them will be very happy with each other. But things were different. She said to me, she was not able to mentally share her space with a stranger who has suddenly become her better-half. She said she wasn’t feeling secure with him (they had relocated to Trivandrum away from her parents and relatives due to his job). I asked what security she meant, was it financially?

She explained she never had felt insecure when she was with her father, and she believed that nothing can hurt her if her father was around, but with her husband, she always felt that she should be vigil, like while she was in their car with him on the wheels,, she was scared..

This conversation always lingered on my mind because even I believed that nothing can hurt me when I am with my father.

I am so proud of my father, and I feel extremely happy when somebody says, I am a Xerox of my father. There may be many shortcomings to him, but from where I see, he is perfect.

My grandma used to say, my father always wanted a son, but he got two daughters. And he did bring us up like his sons with all of that freedom and the spirit.I remember one day he telling to my mom’s sister, holding our hands, that we were his only assets.

Anything I wish, he is always ready to fulfill it. If the wish isn’t reasonable, 2 days of brooding and not talking to him would get him to do it for me. Eventhough I make sure that consciously I don’t do anything to disappoint him, somethings just happen.But I make sure that I apologise and make up for it.

As the eldest child of the house, he has always given me that importance, whether its my opinion on which car to buy next or which color shirt suits him the most. And I am definetly honored by that.

My daddy the bestest and the strongest..