Superman

“One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.”

It will come as no surprise to anyone, that today's topic is about Fathers. I will talk about the best one I have ever known. His name is Jyotish K. Pathak. He has made a beautiful world for himself in the village of Skokie. A civil engineer by profession, he is blessed with two engineer daughters and a gorgeous wife. But his remarkable elegance isn't just displayed in how awesome his family is, but oozes out of every action of his. The running joke in our houselhold is that my dear father has secured a place in heaven, while the rest of us will be trapped in the cycle of reincarnation. Basically, he is a good person. Wait scratch that-- He's the best person I have ever known. Yup, my daddy IS the strongest! :)

However, this father-daughter relationship is only based on complications. There are fights, numerous ones, and arguments that span everything from politics to my daily diet. At one point in my life, my father was my idol. He slowly grew into being my biggest enemy. Then, he was a great banker for my lavish tastes. But today, he is a mentor. He is a support system. He is the reason I am so loud, ambitious, optimistic and opinionated.

I wish to share a brief anecdote to paint a picture of how my father and I interact with each other.

Day 1
Me: Dad, Can you please pick me up on time?
Dad: But, I'm only five minutes late.
Me: Umm.. My train gets here at 8:35pm.
Dad: Well, It's only 8:50pm.
Me: That's 15 minutes, not 5
Dad: Oh 8:35 just gets rounded to 8:45.. I mean 8:35 is such an odd time for the train to arrive anyway!
Me: ::Dumbfounded with this argument:: I'm just going to have Neh pick me up tomorrow

Day 2
Lather, Rinse and Repeat!

This happens to us all the time. But I guess my dad teaches us an important lesson every time he makes us wait-- the virtue of patience. In those 5-10 minutes, our anxiety to see him becomes so great, that we literally can't wait to see him. He almost creates an inevitable importance for himself. And his value just increases with a little bit of wait from us. I suppose this is the most important lesson I have learned from him. To realize and appreciate the gift of time.

Sure it's great to be punctual, but occasionally it's waiting that pays off. The happiness of achieving something after great hard work and insurmountable patience is incomparable. His famous line is, "Wait, think it through. Is that what you really want?" It annoys us sometimes, but he's correct. Even the way he talks reflects this carefree, yet wise attitude. He pauses before every thought; And my sister, mom and I move to the edges of the chair, waiting for him to complete his sentence. "That was it," he'll conclude. "You paused for a whole minute to tell us you were done?" we'll retort back. "I just wanted to be sure. And yup, that's really the whole story. Unless.... I forgot something!" We roll our eyes. But inside we know he's right. It is only wise to think before you speak and contemplate before you act. It's perhaps the most valuable advice anyone can ever give.

There are a million other things about my dearest dad that irritate me. Sometimes I yell. Other times I walk away. And on rare occasions, I wait and ask myself, "Is that really what I wanted?" But I'm sure in every interaction of his, he conveys some knowledge, departs some wisdom and in his own strange way, makes us better people.

Dad, I may not always understand your strange ways, but you rock. I will always respect you for the great person that you are. And undoubtedly, I will always love you (more than mom, but let's just not tell her!)

Happy Father's Day! <3