The first man in any girl’s life is her father and
ditto with me. He has been my first-love
and the source of inspiration who taught me to believe in myself, the biggest
endowment he has bestowed on me which has stood me in good stead through the
crests and troughs of life. He has been
my soldier from the day I was born. My
birth was unfortunately not welcomed the way it should or at least could have
been as my conservative family was quite taken aback by the birth of a
daughter. Instead of happiness on the
occasion, there was more a veil of disappointment which was very hard on my
parents, who were supposed to be ‘celebrating’ their first-born! My father stood stoically in the face of it
all, as though in the dock his only ‘crime’ being the birth of a daughter. Seeing the antagonistic hostility all around
was perhaps the biggest compelling factor that made him more possessive about
me than ever. I became the cynosure of
all his love and attention. He actually
became my soldier in thought and action, sheltering me from the vicissitudes of
life like only he could. He explained to
all those opposed to my gender that he was responsible for it and not mom who
had come in for immense flak for no fault of hers. Dad taught me to set my own standards, and achieve
them for he said that his daughter would not follow the beaten path but set her
own trail. He imbibed in me principles
of believing in my capabilities never mind what others thought or had to say
about them. His has been the strongest
shoulder all my life and his jadoo ki jhappi works as fine today as it did
yesterday. All my life I have been the
pivot of his existence and am referred to as his Princess even today. He never gave up on me even when I faltered,
unsure of myself. He has amply lived up
to the statement that a dad is someone who wants to catch you before you
fall but instead picks you up, brushes
you off, and, let’s you try again! My
father’s protection of me has been the greatest gift of my childhood to
me! I take pride in being daddy’s little
(!) girl. In life I did find my prince,
but my daddy is my still my king. My daddy strongest and best-est! My Father,
My Soldier For Life!
