A HUNDRED DAYS FOR THE DAD...

A fresh new month, another holiday incepted by the west. The third Sunday of June brings us the “father’s day”. On 19th June 1910 the father’s day was solicited by Mrs Jhon B Dodd who felt the need for a day dedicated to our dads and so she did. The dads who back then mostly were tough people , working hard to provide for the family. Devoid of sentiments and emotions they never needed thanks for cuffing the sons by the ears or scaring away boys from their daughters. The idea was instantly met with ridicule.

A century later, the thing that has kept the day alive and going is commercialisation. It were retailors of men’s merchandise who saw it as a opportunity to boost sales and capitalised on it by promoting it with sales and discounts. Consumerism took its toll and people bought gifts for their dads even if they saw clearly through the capitalistic facade.

The wave of capitalisation arrived in India long after and it was not untill the last two decades that father’s day was celebrated here . It was unofficially sponsored by the greeting card companies who promised that they could express every single emotion for us ,that they could speak for us and help us express what we were feeling. -Now lets take a moment here-Are we so incapable that we cant even express ourselves and that we need a stranger to put words in our mouths to realise what we feel for our dad. And what is this hyped feeling.Why celebrate father’s day at all.

Well heres the thing. Because you owe him. And not for the values and aptitudes he imbibed in you. But because you owe him hard cash. It was he who paid for your expensive college and made sure you had a secure future. He who paid for the holidays that you took to the hill stations in the summer. Every time your bike hits reserve it he who gets it refilled. When you broke Mishra uncle’s window pane playing cricket your dad was the one who took care of it. When you are down with fever its your mom who was with you all through. But silently away from all attention it was your dad who paid for the doctor and the medication. If tomorrow you get into trouble in a road accident and are sitting in a police lock up it would be your dad making frantic calls to powerful friends to bail you out.We rarely get a chance to realise that let alone thank him for all.

So how’s this hundredth fathers day going to be for us now that we know how we feel for our often unrecognised male parent. Well it can be a dinner at his favourite resturant with some casual conversation. You dont have to tell him how important he is to you and that you care for him (save that for the mother’s day). Focussing on spending some quality time with you dad accompanied with good food should suffice. Just dont forget to skip the flowers.