my dad

we miss those who have passed away
we miss them dearly.
we feel we have been wronged by their death
Yet it is they who have missed out the most.

My dad died 15 years back.
I was 9 years old.
I knew my dad only for 9 years and i miss him.
Coincidently its fathers day today.
its not that i miss him on every fathers day.
and its not that when i miss him today i am crying or something.
Its just something i am used to.
Me and my family miss him and its a constant emotion which doesnt need display.

But i think my dad is the one who missed out on doing so many things he wanted to.
I know very less of my dad.
But i know him enough to know he was all that a man should be and more.
He played sports, had won uncountable golf tournaments, badminton champion.
He was "boxing blue" in his time at the NDA.
He was fondly called "Taat Jaat" because he was maharashtrian so "taatya" which became "Taat" and
had the spirit of a "jaat" fighter.
At age 42 he could do a hand stand.
He was promoted before time always and was doing as well as anyone could in the defence force.

I remember the time we used to go fishing at Jamnagar.
Early sunday mornings we would be off to the river.
Me, my brother my mom and my dad and our very handy man whom we used to call Amra bhaiyya.
Once on one of these trips my mom fell into quicksand and was drowning.
My dad pulled her out and i remember them both being so cool about it all.

I also heard this story about my dad.
Just after being commissioned as an officer, he had come to Pune for his holidays.
He was on his way on his bicycle and had stopped at a signal.
He rested his hand on a rikshaw and balanced himself without touching the ground.
The rikshaw driver got mad seeing this and stepped out and started abusing my dad.
My dad with just arm turned his rikshaw upside down and silently went away.

He used to love driving and hence obviously we did too.
Every year we would go for long family vacations which included a lot of driving.
His Ray-Ban would be out and we would be off bundled into our small and efficient maruti.

My dad has missed out on so much due to his untimely death.
After 22 years of hard work, when he should have been enjoying the fruits of his labour, he cant.
He missed his sons growing up.
His wife becoming the most successful school principal in Pune.
His sons becoming engineers.
His elder son getting married.

I missed him the most when Arjun got married.
I cried that day and it disturbed my mom as i usually never cried in front of anyone.
I am sure he must have missed us too that day.
All of us missed him.
My mom, my brother and me.
But we dint say anything to each other.

Yes, Death wronged us by taking my dad away from us.
But it wronged him much more than it did us.

the saintly flower

As i walked, the snow crunching beneath my feet, the clouds drenching me mercilessly and the wind blowing holes through my face,
i saw it.
bright blue in colour and as little as my little fingernail, a beautiful flower.
It was raining and in sub-zero temperatures the water was cutting through our skins and yet this
flower lay there undisturbed , unperturbed by it all.
I couldnt help but wonder that despite its awe-inspiring fury and its fearsome strength, nature could not help making beautiful
things.
These flowers would have gone unnoticed, but that dint bother nature and it continued to make them.

i touched the flower and it was so delicate that the petals almost got crushed with the force of my fingers.
And yet the rain hadnt bothered it.
It had ,infact ,thrived in the snow.
And yet it will die eventually.
And another would take its place and be just as beautiful as it was.
But it will never replace that flower.
it would never be as important to me as that flower was.

people crib about their lives all the time
i have to walk 5 minutes to the bus stop.
my office is too far.
why is it so hot here.
why do i have to work so much.
i get paid too less.
why doesnt anybody like me.

next time you feel like you are having a tough day, think about the little flower noticed by none, braving
the sun, the snow, the cold, the rain, just to make the world a better and beautiful place.