Finding him in the most unexpected faces!
I have looked for him & found him in the most unexpected faces.
It’s my graduation day. I see mum beaming proudly from her seat. And then there is a void. I do not see him next to her. I miss him!
I have missed him during the festivals, especially Diwali. The building kids would congregate in the compound with their dads & rake up a rukus. They were most kind to me. And yet I would be filled with rage at their kindness.
My birthdays! My school is an odd one. It had this customary thing about the dads dropping their kids on their birthdays. Like all the kids I would prance to school with my uncle and flaunt shamelessly. Of course, I automatically developed selective hearing towards questions about who had dropped me. Some secrets are good for the confidence.
The first rains were occasions of immense frolick! We kids would race up to the terrace & get drenched. We had this funny antiquated jig that brought us immense joy. My uncle joined us in this merry making & would hoist his kids on his shoulders to do a little bhangra. He seemed kind and once in a while I would get hoisted on his powerful shoulders too.
Then that one day when the rains brought havoc to our city. As everything came to a stand still and reports of people getting swept away poured in, I prayed to God more fervently to protect my mum the most and why not? There was no one to look out for her unlike the other mummies. I helplessly missed you then.
I have a creative mind and yet I struggled with the sketches in the art class. As the pressure built up with others submitting beautiful assignments, I began to withdraw into my protective cocoon. And then I saw you peeping out of my art teacher’s eyes. He gathered me to a quite corner & covered my apprehensive gait with his soothing words of encouragement. My pencil lost its stutter from then on.
If ever I was late being home, I saw you in my nanu’s wrath.
In my growing years I was sometimes relieved of your absence. At least my guy friends were not getting grilled unfairly by your possessiveness. On hindsight, I missed that too. Was it right to be let off with a stranger all alone just like that without any background checks etc?
And now graduation day! It’s a whole new chapter from here on. There are bridges to build & paths to thread. One might end-up at a fork with tough choices to make. It would have been easier having you around to help me place my winning bet.
I continue my journey knowing that I will once again see you peeping through some face that cares. There is no dearth of angels and yet I miss you…..
Glossary –
Bhangra – Punjabi folk dance.
Nanu – Maternal grandfather।
Copyright © BuntysBanter 2008
It’s my graduation day. I see mum beaming proudly from her seat. And then there is a void. I do not see him next to her. I miss him!
I have missed him during the festivals, especially Diwali. The building kids would congregate in the compound with their dads & rake up a rukus. They were most kind to me. And yet I would be filled with rage at their kindness.
My birthdays! My school is an odd one. It had this customary thing about the dads dropping their kids on their birthdays. Like all the kids I would prance to school with my uncle and flaunt shamelessly. Of course, I automatically developed selective hearing towards questions about who had dropped me. Some secrets are good for the confidence.
The first rains were occasions of immense frolick! We kids would race up to the terrace & get drenched. We had this funny antiquated jig that brought us immense joy. My uncle joined us in this merry making & would hoist his kids on his shoulders to do a little bhangra. He seemed kind and once in a while I would get hoisted on his powerful shoulders too.
Then that one day when the rains brought havoc to our city. As everything came to a stand still and reports of people getting swept away poured in, I prayed to God more fervently to protect my mum the most and why not? There was no one to look out for her unlike the other mummies. I helplessly missed you then.
I have a creative mind and yet I struggled with the sketches in the art class. As the pressure built up with others submitting beautiful assignments, I began to withdraw into my protective cocoon. And then I saw you peeping out of my art teacher’s eyes. He gathered me to a quite corner & covered my apprehensive gait with his soothing words of encouragement. My pencil lost its stutter from then on.
If ever I was late being home, I saw you in my nanu’s wrath.
In my growing years I was sometimes relieved of your absence. At least my guy friends were not getting grilled unfairly by your possessiveness. On hindsight, I missed that too. Was it right to be let off with a stranger all alone just like that without any background checks etc?
And now graduation day! It’s a whole new chapter from here on. There are bridges to build & paths to thread. One might end-up at a fork with tough choices to make. It would have been easier having you around to help me place my winning bet.
I continue my journey knowing that I will once again see you peeping through some face that cares. There is no dearth of angels and yet I miss you…..
Glossary –
Bhangra – Punjabi folk dance.
Nanu – Maternal grandfather।
Copyright © BuntysBanter 2008
posted by Bunty's Banter at 10:41 AM
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