‘Father’ is known as ‘Appa’ in South India, ‘Papa’ in North India, and ‘Dad’ in America, but the definition can be only one, ‘Superhero’
Keshavan sat on the park bench of his university, IIT, he had made it. Keshavan’s actual name was Murudamma Keshavan Muttuswami Iyer, and yes, he was brahmin. Being brought up in a strict brahmin household, Keshavan or Keshav as he was called at home, had grown up in rules. Don’t eat non-veg, pray every day, study and get above 95% in each exam, the list was long. His father always held high expectations from him so he would do nothing but study, and with that, he built into a scrawny young man with his head always buried in a book, and not any book, a textbook of the next grade. His ultimate goal had been set by his father at birth. He held the position of the first male child, as soon as his father got to know a boy had been born Mr.Iyer had exclaimed, “He will go to IIT!”.
But after reaching this level, Keshav had realised that every time his father had forced him to study it was Keshav who gained anything. Without his father this young man was nothing. All the times his father let him fall from his bicycle and then tended the wounded with almost care, or the times he made coffee when Keshav had late night studies. His father expressed his love in these little things that Keshav was too lost in his books to notice. Keshav rang up his father's phone and said to him for the first time in years, “I love you Appa, I really do”, with this he cut the phone. His father’s chest swelled with pride and he cried into his wife’s arms, “I am really proud of our son Shanta”, he kept repeating all night long, because he is a father and his young will never tire, scolding and praising you.
Make sure you let your father know too because all your pillars may crumble, but his finger will always be there to hang to.
