For Our Father

For Our Father, Who Art at Home

A SEEMA teen describes how and why she celebrates a day devoted to dad

ANUSUIYA MEHROTRA

My father is an inspiration. To express my gratitude to him for all the sacrifices he has made is not something I will pass. For all the times he did not go to sleep so he could console me when I cried, the times he woke up early in the morning to get me ready for school despite working late nights, being always ready with a scrumptious cake and loving wishes on my birthdays… For every other thing he did for me and my family.

For me, Father’s Day is aside to express my gratitude to my dad in the fullest manner. It is the time for me to put my feelings for him at the forefront of my mind and heart.

To my father, that is a day filled with the feeling of accomplishment and happiness. It is a day he is reminded of all he has done for his family. His children are his pride and joy, and getting a day to embrace the feeling of being a father thrills him.

He relishes his role every day of his life, but this is the day all of those feelings are nudged and brought back to consciousness.

Efforts to make the day special begins a week earlier. My siblings and I kick off the production by collecting the past year’s memories – videos and photographs of our father and us, compiling them into an endearing video. Then we prepare a bunch of cards with colorful sheets and decoration, writing within them tender and warm messages for him. The next step is arranging balloons in pretty colors and a freshly baked cake in his favorite flavor (chocolate and mango) with ‘We Love You Dad’ written on top. All of this is a sincere attempt of conveying our true feelings.

The decoration is just not limited to the cake. We spend time decorating the living room with some printed photographs and cards hanging on warm yellow string lights and balloons strategically positioned. A projector is set up before a white wall that acts as a screen for the video. Watching the compilation never failed to bring a tear to my eye. The entire family seats itself comfortably on the couch, enjoying snacks and the celebration the children put up. Reading out our cards to father would always reduce my father and mother to tears. That bit gets very emotional.

Another major tradition in our celebration involves visiting the local orphanage. We feel that just because other people, too, should be able to celebrate this day despite the absence of a father or a father figure in their lives. So we visit the orphanage, distribute gifts to children there, and have a small celebration with them as well.

For me, Father’s Day is very important. No one in the family is left out of the celebration. It is one of the days of the year I eagerly await. It is when I pay tribute to a man who has always been there for me through thick and thin, through joy and misery.

Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day – a day we express our gratitude and love for a parent, saluting them for their hard work and the sacrifices they made for their children. According to me, there is hardly any difference between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Both parents deserve equal credit for their child’s development. Both have their children’s best interests at heart. Both roles are equally vital. And so I feel the two days should be celebrated with the same energy and excitement.