Had it been a normal year, this would have been a normal day of my life. Though it marked the birthday of my father, I am sure I must have never wished him.
He was always there for me but I was not there when he needed me the most.He was the motivator, always popping up with solutions rather than problems. He was doing things which he avoided for decades with zeal as if these were up to his liking. He was putting his soul in and out for the marriage of his only son who against the wishes of family was marrying out of caste. He was never conservative but objections from other family members made him dubious for some time. But once everything was finalized and an agreement was done between the families, he was fully into it. For last 1 year he was busy in building a floor for his son and daughter-in-law. It was finished at the right time and only final touches were left. All the hard work in building a floor while still living in the same house was done 2 months before the fixed date of marriage. This was the thing that he avoided for his whole life just for the heck of pain and hardship involved in it.
January 7, 2010 was the most unfortunate day of my lifewhen he suffered a heart stroke without having any previous history. For the whole day, right from the morning exercise and yoga to his death at 7.30 pm in the evening, he was confusing his heart attack with heart burn. He even went to heart specialist doctors who unfortunately were unavailable at that fateful day. And finally he landed up in a nearby physician who also was a MD, where he died.
The only feeling left now is helplessness. I work in Delhi, a good 5 hour distance from my home town. Every fortnight, I visit my city for a day and a half. Is it good enough to take care of your family, when there is no other male member in your family? Wouldn't have I been there on that day, probably he must have garnered the courage to go to a specialist which was 4-5 kms away only instead of going to that physician and probably, I was ignoring his yet another birthday.
But not this time papa, Happy Birthday to you My Most Loving Papa. You were the best father in the whole world. Your innocent smiles will never be forgotten and nor will be the innumerable things you have done for us.
