Daddy and I

There is peace in simplicity. There is peace in simple little things, that gives you a strange kind of joy. Like this mail.

Dear Tina

Thought of replying immediately. Then, waited for a few days hoping for something interesting to come up but no luck.

Your travelogue is really as good as a picture drawn on a huge canvas.Sometimes, when I get an opportunity, I try to see the various parts of the world in Natgeo channel.So, I can , to some extent, visualise the natural beauty, you tried to describe. Moreover, GOD (Great Ocean Drive) has to be beautiful.

Noted the other redeeming features e.g. good food, lots of fish, etc., etc.,.....

Meeshu did not give any trouble, only shows, she understands & she is growing up , fast.Seen her picture, taken in her classroom(??).

My Master Health Check revealed marginal increase in blood sugar.No medication needed. Only diet control & some exercise,.. maybe morning walk. All that shall start after returning from Chennai.

Nandita Kaki is presently at Pune to attend a Training Programme.Tonight Pablo is supposed to stay at RBI Guest House, Pune where Nandita is staying. She will return to Kolkata on Saturday(24th).

Tinki's marriage is on 30thJan. Salil called up to invite but you know, its not so simple.Instead, yr Mamma is planning to go to Cuttack to attend wedding of Manju Mausi's daughter, Laali, sometimes towrds end Feb'09.

What else! I think, rest of the news, if any, shall be given by Mamma.

Needless to mention, we miss all of you very, very much.

We are all keeping fine. Wish you all to be in pink of health.

All the best. Love to Meeshu.

Daddy



There is really very little to say about dad and my relationship. Yet, there is so much more to it. A dad-daughter relationship always has, no? We communicate best in writing. He is the best writer I have ever come across in my lifetime. But he never really pursued it. His Bangla writings are especially something I have always treasured. There is a little Red note book, which rests in the attic of our Hyderabad apartment. It is ofcourse, in tatters now...that book was dad's poetry, short story and essay book in his student days. I chanced upon it in my childhood, and have ever since been enthralled.

This email, doesn't it smell of simplicity? He has always been that way. He is happy with a pair of shoes, 2 pairs of trousers, a few shirts, fish curry and rice. His soul rests in Kanachchanda, our native village in Orissa, where he spent a large chunk of his childhood. Swimming against the tide in Kanachchanda's Kharasrata river, later won him laurels in BE college, Kolkata- he was a swimming champ.

When we chat, we hardly talk. Its always about the weather and other such mundane stuff. when i got married and was at the door step leaving home (Vidaai), they just couldn't trace him. I was so upset. Ma later told me- he was weeping inconsolably in the balcony. It was a stroke of luck that I married into a family that lived on the first floor of the same building-- that way I got to see him everyday. He would quietly stand under the building at a spot where I could see him from Raj and my room's balcony. He would deliberately light a cigarette to while away some time, and wait for me to appear. If i'd appear to his luck, he'd wave and leave. So much love, can come from a parent only.

I miss you, Pa. And that Laali's wedding....I wanna be there too :(.

Comments

Fighter Jet said…
"... He would quietly stand under the building at a spot where I could see him from Raj and my room's balcony. He would deliberately light a cigarette to while away some time, and wait for me to appear. If i'd appear to his luck, he'd wave and leave...."

this truly reflects the relationship of father and daughter in no uncertain words..very well written.
indranil said…
i hardly knew Dash da for.He was just another person who would come to samity during the durga pujas, with or without sadhukhan da. so between us it was just a twitch of an eyebrow and a forced mute smile acknowledging each others presence. Slowly it escalated to a few lines courtesy talk about wellness.Later as matrimonial alliances started firming up, the interfaces became slightly more, though i used it impishly to brush up my decadent Oriya. but in retrospect i thnk he has been aptly described as a man happy in this world with a pair of shoes a couple or so of trousers and a few shirts apart from the ubiquitious fish curry. Yes, it would have been nice if i could have had the opportunity of spending a bit more time with him even if they were about mundane pleasantries. recent exchanges were a long time ago, and that too in a crowd, where mass discussions ranged from rajsekhar reddy to dada's batting performances. Its nice to get into a focussed but idle chat with such people, where one can pick up loose threads to tie the beads of one's life, but unfortunately it was not destined to be so.. we live far apart, the socializing has never been on a 1-2-1 platform and I dont have much time with me.

Just sincerely hope that he succeeds in having his wishes fulfilled.

Indranil kaku
@kaku: this was so hurriedly written, because i was missing him so much the other day. There is so much mroe to him, as a person, that you'll be pleasantly surprised. Am sure dad would have loved your company too....:)
the pleasantone said…
sweet i cried when i read this post! i can understand your relationship with dad! made me miss my dad like crazy.....uncle is the best!

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