[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n my recent trip to Kolkata, while shopping in one of the busy streets of Kolkata. I was trying to find my way across the street carrying my prized bundles amidst thousands and thousands of people that thronged the street everyday. I dashed upon an old lady wearing a tattered sari begging for Alms. I thought at that moment that I had rather walk away because you encounter this kind of incident everyday. Beside no doubt Kolkata is a hot city but that particular day temperature was at its peak and I was drenched to the ground on the look out for an oasis to quench my thirst. To be very honest I didn’t regret glancing back a second time for when i did observed that lady carefully. To my horror she was half blind and in her face i saw a reflection of my daddy’s face looking up at me hungry, thirsty and alone. I knew in that very moment i should help her because it will be like walking away without helping my daddy. The story goes like this- I put down my shopping bags, took out a few notes, hand it over to her and i wonder what the old lady was thinking when i told her in broken Hindi to raise her palm and placed it on my head to bless me. She did of course without haste and i walked away satisfied in my heart, a much happier woman carrying my bundles feeling much lighter. A thought in my heart “Daddy I know you’re watching me from above”!!I remember my dad as someone who had a broad smile for everyone, a man with a giant heart always ready to ‘Give’. His motto in life was to GIVE and to GIVE and to never get tired of GIVING. I believe there are many great men, good men, good husbands and many great fathers the world over. I also believe every girl young or old as you read this page you must be thinking about your dad with a smile because we all share a common bond when it comes to our daddy. And that is we all believe that we are “Daddy’s Angles”. I remember as a young girl i would hum along with my daddy as he cook his favorite dishes for us. He simply loves cooking and he used to have a healthy appetite too. He always used to say ‘the way to a child’s heart is through his stomach. Today as a grown up lady when there are so many talented singers, just to humor me I used to crack a joke every now and then at home had daddy went for a singing audition he will be the first to get knocked out from the 1st round. But as a young girl I love listening to my daddy’s voice and even convinced myself that no one sings better than my daddy. As a young girl I remember listening to many exciting stories, especially adventures of my brave forefathers who fought the Indian armies during the insurgency period. I would gasp and open my mouth and begged for more stories. I remember daddy teaching me math and science, buying me short stories. I remember how i would pester him to give me pocket money as i go to school. He would gave me sometimes a 50 paisa, a rupee or a 2 rupee note which to youngster of today’s generation would find it funny but in the eighties a 50 paisa or a rupee note can fetch me a varieties of goodies. But the sweetest part was when I asked him about heaven. He would always say with a glow in his face that after our death on earth, we will all mount up to heaven, sitting upon the white clouds singing without stopping until we reached heaven. As a child if i excitingly asked him “what will we do when we enter heaven”? He would remark ‘Ah my dear girl, when we all reach heaven, God will adorn us all with a golden crown according to our deeds on earth. And we will sing praise of God day and night without ceasing and we will never feel the pangs of hunger and thirst no more. And i would glow with happiness and would asked ‘daddy am i really gonna get a golden crown, he would lovingly reply ‘yes my dear girl, yes of course because God loves you and everybody. As a grown up when i reflected what was the reason behind my father saying that all the entire family will go to heaven. I now perceived that he was wise enough to know that children are innocent and a child gets emotional even by silly words. Therefore he doesn’t wished that we go through the pangs of pain that one day we’ll all face the inevitable truth about Death .And that it will be either to a place called heaven or a hell we will all descend one day according to our deeds. I am a fruit lover and i simply cannot resist fruits, a habit i picked up as a small girl. I was told as a little girl when i take my regular afternoon nap, my dad would come home from office everyday and place my favorite juicy guava or a giant banana( which I dig even today ) lovingly beside my pillow. On awakening i would clutch my prized possession with a happy, a little shy and nervous expression and used to bellowed in a rather husky dreamy voice ‘I know it was papa who left the fruits for me’. I miss all those childhood memories but above all i will never forget this ordinary man because he was my first love and i grew up idolizing and loving my sweetest dearest dad. Who loved everybody equally alike while he was alive, who touched as many lives as he could as he walked by. As a young girl i remember growing up with uncles and aunties dropping in at our place, who would rest for a day or stay for a night in our humble abode. But never knowing that they were in no way related to us except the fact that my daddy never hesitated to offer a glass of water, a plate of rice and a roof to rest at night to any stranger or friends that he came across. I was told that on one occasion he went away for election duty, carrying his luggage, a few shirts and trousers and an extra shoe. But when he returned home without carrying his slippers. My mom asked him in horror ‘Did someone rob you? He brightened up and said in a happy tone ‘Ah I gave away everything because somebody needed it more than I do’. I remember during our prayer meetings at night he would often tell us that “God our father, gave us his only begotten son, so that we shall have eternal life. He would always encourage us that we’re all here to love one another and to share what little we have with everyone. One cannot become a great missionary just because you sacrifice your time and energy and go preaching the word of God. But you can be a missionary everyday by doing something good everyday. You can be born rich or even born poor but it doesn’t matter as long as you share what you have with people around you or to walk an extra mile for somebody who needed your help. He would often tell us that ‘ if any of my children walk by without helping people in your life’s journey be sure you will not be fit to call my children’. These words of my dad got stuck in my heart and stayed on all these years as I grow up from a little girl into a college girl and to a grown –up woman. To the world my dad was an ordinary man but to me he will always be the ‘HERO’ in my story. A man who had a big heart who never ceased giving till his last breath. A man who radiates light everywhere he walked and touched every one in his short journey called LIFE!! p.s- This article is written as a tribute to my late daddy .I pray that anyone who reads this humble piece be touched and inspired.
Author Name: Mapupokla Jamir
