Happy Fathers' Day To All The Dads

By: Shazia Yousuf

A son’s source of inspiration, a daughter’s pride; the relationship of a father with his children is one of its kind. He is a friend in some cases, or at times a figure of deep respect; he is the royalty, the King of the house.

Though a king, he is the one who has to get up early in the morning without fail, leave the house for the entire day to earn and feed the household. No doubt a lot of fathers are supported by mothers too in earning a living, but in most cases, the father is the main source of income. He is the one who bears with the stress at work and humiliation too at times in order to be able to provide a comfortable home environment for the entire family. Fathers have no choice but to be the local branch of the money tree.

When at home, fathers usually get to play the role of the lion resting in his den. In some cases he is seen giving a helping hand to his better half in household chores, or taking care of the plumbing or electricity issues, or maybe getting the UPS fixed. Or if the mom has been good enough to take care of all of this, he may just be the lion in his den!

Nevertheless, a father is he who spoils the family by bringing in halwa poori on lazy sunday mornings, ordering in students biryani for lunch at times, bringing in chicken patties, rolls, cream rolls or mughlai paratha for tea time munching on his way back from work!

A father’s love for his children is one of its kind. Although children are mostly more emotionally attached to their mothers since they spend more time with her, but a father may be a son’s or a daughter’s best friend. He may act strict at times, but usually it is seen that fathers are quite soft hearted, especially in matters related to daughters after they get married.

It is amazing to see a father’s face light up when his daughter visits after she gets married. He feels more hurt when he sees his daughters in any form of agony. He may not be able to share her woes like a mother would do, but he is the source of strength that keeps a daughter going.

For a son, a father is a role model. When small, a son may boast about “my dad” with his friends. In him, he finds his inspiration, an image of who he wants to be. This may change over the years as he grows up. But a father is always a buddy with whom a son can share all issues related to school, home, work and relationships. A son’s dream – to be what his dad wished him to be.

I can never forget how concerned my father used to be with my health. I kind of find it funny too at times how “having a cup of milk” would be the solution to all my health issues! He never had a problem when we kids wished to skip school, he would tell us very comfortably to worry not and go to sleep. This actually instilled in us the habit of not missing school! He was always happy with our grades, made us realize that knowledge was more important than the score. His subtle preaching in matters of principles, religion and spirituality are the greatest gifts a father could give to his children.

I have come to realize that: “Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad." -- Anne Geddes.

Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads!