Dad hoisting the national flag on Independence Day at his workplace.
This little clip is making my heart burst through my eyes. The sincerity in that little moment where he’s stepping back to look at, and salute the Tricolour, gives a peek into his relationship with his motherland.
India turned 75 yesterday. My Dad turns 71 in 3 weeks. They have grown up together.
My grandparents came to India with nothing, during the partition (there’s a whole book in that one sentence. For another time.) Somehow they scraped through to educate their children.
As a doctor, during the ’80s and ’90s, Dad was traveling the world before it was a thing (closed economies, expensive flights etc.). He gave up opportunities to settle abroad because India was building itself back, and he wanted to serve the country.
I recall accompanying him for such a flag hoisting ceremony 25 years back. He has done this countless times before and since.
Now during the pandemic, his classes and meetings are all on Zoom. And yet, here he is.
He also went last year, when things were much worse, pandemic-wise.
You can’t tell him not to. Well, you can, but…
It’s true that you start to see your parents as more human, with flaws etc, as you grow up. But you also see what badasses they are in negotiating a challenging world.
My Dad has, and continues to, achieve a lot. But what I’m most in awe of, is how consistently he’s lived by his own values, no matter what.
He’s mild-mannered, soft-spoken, smiles often, and always does whatever the hell he thinks he should.
