A DAUGHTER'S THANK-YOU








Pic.: Shreeshay Patel



“You can sacrifice and not love…
But you cannot love and not sacrifice.” 

― Kris Vallotton

I had visitors in my office, a while ago – a father and his daughter. During the course of our discussion, the father told me that his daughter had given him and his wife a pleasant surprise, some days ago. It was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. The daughter had quietly worked from behind the scene… She had meticulously saved every rupee she had earned during the entire year (by giving tuitions)… She had contacted her parents' closest friends, who had been by them, in their good times and bad times… She had invited them along with some close relatives and arranged for a warm celebration in a beautiful venue… Her parents had no clue about it till the day of the celebration had arrived!

For twenty-five years, the parents had been doing so many things for their daughter without making any ‘show’ about it. Small and big sacrifices… yes, no parent normally makes a big deal about them… They all do them quietly behind the scene… Call it unconditional love or call it pure ‘duty’ – ‘dharma’…. For ages, what parents do for their children has been a quiet, gentle and loving act...

And, they continue doing it till their last breath…

And, they do it even though children have deserted them!

Am I being too general?

Not really.

My own mother, who lives with my elder brother’s family in our hometown, even in her past eighties, thinks that we five brothers wouldn’t survive without her love and care!

And, deep in my heart, I know, that she is not wrong!

We need our mother – her love and care… above all, her blessings, to survive!

So, this young girl knew how much her dad and mom had done for her over all those twenty-five years of their married life. She had observed how her dad would call up some of his friends and ask for their bank account number and ATM password to withdraw cash in emergencies such as school or college fee-payment… She had taken some time to grasp the magnitude of such friendships – someone sharing his password to withdraw cash from ATM etc! Yes, she had felt its direct impact on her growing-up… and, she had remembered such true friends to be there by their side during the warm tribute she had paid for her parents…

And, yes, the daughter had played her guitar and dedicated a special song too for her parents…She hadn’t forgotten how patiently her parents had nurtured her passion for guitar and singing over all those years!

Well, it wasn’t any mind-blowing story of love, affection and sacrifice. It was a simple story of how a daughter could genuinely tell her parents on their silver wedding… how much their ‘presence’ had meant for her…

To me, such stories bring hope, everyday.

GERALD D’CUNHA

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