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Sunday, September 14, 2008

A birthday present for me

I don't expect you to feel the way I felt while reading it, but maybe you'll know why it is such a special gift. Thank you Dad, I'll treasure this for years to come. And yes, I don't think anything else speaks of me so completely- including my greatest vice.:D

"She is like a multifaceted diamond, meaning many things to many people, but to me she is a daughter and good friend. Today, on her birthday, she is thousands of kilometers away from her mother and me and this testimonial is the only present I can offer her.

Do I know her from the first day in her life? No. When she had been born I was away and controlling a law and order problem created by an awful S. H. O. under me and my boss would not just allow me to leave my headquarters. Add to it, a flood which washed away all the bridges around my headquarters. I came to see my little new-born angel fourteen days after her birth. My wife was not, naturally, what you would call an idol of calmness to see my face. Little did she know that day - or for that matter- knows even today- that I had to drive my jeep, do more than some balancing acts twice across iron beams placed as improvised bridges over two turbulent rivers. My driver was hardly interested to drive the jeep across the rivers saying he did not want commit suicide so early in life.

And then, I saw my little darling slowly grow up and blossom into a lovely creature any father would be proud of. She is a great loyal friend to her friends; gorgeous and adorable goddess to some; has two solid shoulders to cry on and is a wonderful listener of sad tales to some people. She is conscientious from her childhood and did not have any confusion about gray areas in life – she knows whether an object is black or white.

A dreamy girl, she always had some dreams, dreams of different kinds and some of them may make her laugh now. After watching ‘The Sound of Music’ she decided that she would become a nun, someone like Mother Abbess. I am sure she has given up the idea now. After she has been to the USA for her MBA she has changed a lot and has become a more pragmatic woman. She has been pursuing a dream of a different kind now. I know that she is faithful to her dreams and will pursue them till she achieves them.

She is highly possessive of her near and dear ones. Only about ten years back, one day, she saw a little neighbor girl hugging me (I was not hugging her). She became livid and demanded to know the reason for showing so much affection to a neighbor's daughter. She was so angry that she misjudged her steps on the stairs and fell down. Imagine! If there is a word beyond ‘livid’ the word has not been invented yet. And this little story is only a warning to my future son-in-law – be prepared to be killed for infidelity.

When time demands she is ready to work 24/7 and at times she can be very relaxed and lazy, enjoying herself. Probably that’s how life is meant to be. When she got her book, ‘The day I was proven wrong’, published she really worked very hard to change the SMS lingo of her blog to proper book language. After reading her blog and then the blook a journalist friend of mine remarked, ‘She is our own Arundhati Ray’. I know she does not like such comparisons and wants to become only ‘Aparna Kar’, but there is a long way to go before she becomes ‘Aparna Kar’. She is a natural story teller but needs a good publisher with aggressive marketing, lots of which are in attendance behind all best-selling books.

Well, I can keep on writing with no end in sight but there has to be an end to everything. At the end I must say that she is a rare character in the present age because you don’t always find people who are ready to tell the truth even at the cost of harming themselves. Yes, that much of impracticality is there within her but the moment you know her you know that she is not a fake creature, she may be intelligent, smart but she is just natural herself, simple and reliable – and I am proud to be known as her father. I don’t believe in rebirth – otherwise it would have been easy for me to say that I want a daughter like her in every birth. "

21 comments:

Sapadu to random musings.😁 said...

wow.. thats a really spl bday gift for a daughter from her father... Happy bday Aparna..

Sapadu to random musings.😁 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mampi said...

This write up by your dad is definitely the best birthday present you could get. Parents can easily let the good qualities of their children go by and be overtly critical at times. But this piece by your dad is well balanced and crisp.

Happy Birthday Aparna and here is to wish you many more creative b'days to come.

Anonymous said...

awesome post :)...

Bhargav Roy said...

You are extremely lucky to have such a sensitive & loving Dad -it was really very beautiful & touching.Wish you a Very Happy Birthday & may all your dreams come true.

Saurabh Kukreti said...

the best post/testimonial i have ever read anywhere by far.

Unknown said...

u lucky dear to have such a wonderful father :)
Usually u find two types of parents- one who are overly critical of their children, the other who pride in every small step of yours. But your father strikes the exact balance and most of all he knows in & out abt you. This shows the trouble he has taken to do it & he seems to be enjoying it.... Best B'day gift anyone would get. Happy Birthday :)

ILA (a) இளா said...

Its great than ever...

Many More Happy Returns of the day!

Unknown said...

This is definitely the best gift you could have got on this lovely day. What your father has posted in this testimonial is perfect balance of your qualities, but at the same time, cautioning you not to get carried away with the success (the long way to go for "Aparana Kar").

Wish you all the luck and success and a very warm Happy B'day.

Munmun said...

That's really the best gift you could have ! :)

zoxcleb said...

now thts a gift...
and i liked his warning ;-)

Anonymous said...

so now i know from where u got such a wonderful command over the language.... hey aparna belated happy birthday n convey thanks to ur dad for letting us know wat the real aparna is all about....
reading wat ur dad wrote i appriciate u more. keep it up.
all the best

Aparna Ganguly said...

@Dhwani
"so now i know from where u got such a wonderful command over the language.." I was waiting for someone to mention it here :) And thanks for not letting familiarity breed contempt- vices and all. :)

Aparna Ganguly said...

@ zoxcleb
I'm sure he scared a few away already. Very effective in weeding out guys who want to live for a while. D But I'm sure he didn't meant infidelity strictly as adultery; a breach of faith , an omission of truth would be equally punitive. I speak it at my cost. I expect my future partner to do the same - at least with me.

Aparna Ganguly said...

@ munmun,ila, saurabh, bhargav, paromita,lahari
Thanks :)

Aparna Ganguly said...

@mampi, mona, rohit
I guess u guys say it best. He's critical and not blind to our faults but loves us more than any father could have loved. Recently, I have seen some parents are having great difficulties in raising kids - macabre tales really. I wonder why they are different. And I often feel that the parents might not have an effective communication with their kids. Discipline doesn't mean picking the rod.) ("Spare the rod and spoil the child") It's disciplining the minds with the right advice too. I have my own flaws- but in contrast with those kids, my elder brother and me appear like we were angel to our parents. And it's not because they are through with the difficulties of raising children. It's bizarre !

Burcu said...

It was very nice and something written deep in heart!!! Good job
Love from Turkey

Sam said...

I should be more regular on blogsville!!
This really is a wonderful gift from your father and frankly after reading this I really wanna meet your dad. Don't really know why, but I do. Funny, is it?
And you are a natural storyteller. I'm probably saying this for the umpteenth time, but I really wish I could half as well as you do!! Wishful thinking!!
May be the way on being "Aparna Kar" is long, but the journey has started. And, that in my book is as important as completing the journey without losing the real self.
Cheerio... God bless
Keep writing!!

candid diary said...

Is it time to move out to the next post?
:D

zoxcleb said...

and given the way u weed ppl out urself, am sure he will...

Anonymous said...

I guess she is special coz she has a dad like you..And i'm sure she reverbrates your sentiments, to believe that she should have a father like you in every birth, whether she believes in re-birth or not. :-)

Yes Appy is a special girl and a beautiful person inside out. As a friend i can vouch for it, and now having read this special birthday gift from you, i know where some if that inner beauty stems from..