Appa!

He was lying in the ICU, my eyes welled with tears, and I never had the guts to look him dressed up in the Hospital uniform. With constant advices from relations around that I am not supposed to cry in front of him, I gathered courage and entered into the room, to make him believe that we are all strong and we have got him back. I sent my two younger sisters before me, and went last.

 On seeing me, his face brightened, asking, "Neeyum vandurikiya da?" meaning, "You too have come, da?" he never expected me to travel by a car from Chennai to Madurai overnight during my 5th month of pregnancy. I hushed up my words and turned my head away unable to forbid the tears. His care has never knew boundaries. That 'da' is the unique word that affixes every sentence my dad speaks, whether he appreciates or scolds. "It's so nice to see your college reports, da",  or "I never expected this from you, da". Only the tone differs, but the 'da' sticks on..

He rose from the complication that seized him, to the surprise of his friends, family and the Doctors too, purely because of his self-confidence and composure. When I see people endowing their illness as an excuse to their responsibilities, I would eulogize him for his discrete quality. He never thought that girl children would be a burden; my mother would still exhilarate the bliss on my dad's face, when the youngest daughter was born. He has qualities to be envied or to be admired, he has advises to be sought for, he has plans for everything.

One memory that I would carry lifelong is how he reacted to my pregnancy craving. When I carried my second daughter, my husband went abroad, and I would often crave for 'Biryani'. At that time, my dad was promoted as Assistant Manager and despite his hectic schedule, when he came to know this, he called me and said, "If you can't go over to get it, I'll come by train, get you the biryani during the day, and return by night.. You tell, me".. It may sound silly, but at that moment, I felt that no one can replace my dad's  emotional way of dealing with his daughters.

Being one among a Clerk's three children never deprived us from having the best dresses, the best snacks, best vacations, or the best colleges. He made all his daughters attain double degrees, dauntlessly hunted great grooms, gave up nights of sleep planning for their marriages, played along and prayed for his grand-children and he still does. All his life gyrates around his three daughters and their children and appa is either talking to us, thinking about us or praying for us. He preaches by his life, a unique, divine quality called "Selfless Love", in his own way!

Sharing a  Video that I made for his sixtieth birthday, months ago!

I am writing about #MyRoleModel as a part of the activity by Gillette India in association with BlogAdda.com.