A DAUGHTER'S THANK-YOU
Pic.: Shreeshay Patel
“You can sacrifice and not love…
But you cannot love and not sacrifice.”
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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