Its just another birthday..yeah yeah you might be thinking this chick is crazy. Instead of studying HRM (the exam that i have today am busy posting a blog on this stupid blogspot of mine.) Urge!! As u call it...
Just recived a call from dad...he dint call at night (probably thinking his little devil would be fast asleep by 12!!!). But then you see hes "dad" and they always know things better than you. As a kid i had a million questions as to "why did he stay away from home for months (I later realised he was a merchant navy captain!!)", "why he would take me along for his trips abroad","why couldnt he stay back home like other dads" or "why the dolphin was bigger than any other fish i saw". :)
Yes that was me at 6!!
The very few first words that i learnt to speak were "darwajja band" (the door is closed) and "pappa gaya" (daddy's gone) {infact i now remember my mom telling me my first word was "papa"}. As a kid i remember crying each time dad left for his long trips (i literally held his photo to my chest!! TOO filmy i know!! But that was me at 7). I have a vague rememberance of me at the age of 4(i was cute and heavy!!) dad holding me on his shoulders and walking the Great Wall Of China (I 'm not kidding!! I have really been there!! :))... He still thinks i was the best baby :)
Each time dad took me and mom (the best!!) for a new trip my first question would be "Hum Singapore jaa rahe hain naa?? (We are going to singapore arnt we)..and with that cross curved smile he would patiently say "yes" (trust me even if we were heading towards taiwan or ne where) and i would be content tat wow its another trip to the bliss of chocolates and lotta goodies!! :)....The ships used to be vast, huge and my dads cabin the BEST (hes a captain duh!!). I remember fighting with him when he had to go for his night duties (yeah thats a hefty job i must say) and crying out to sleep with mom who consoled me dads gone to sail the ship and all the other fantastic cooked up stories about "Sindband the Sailor" (trust me i was a big fan of Alif Laila....if anyone remembers it at all ).
Dad finally succumbed to all my assembled tears and decided to call it quits when i was 11!! And then came the phase when i would be hovered with questions like "why isnt he going back ??", "no more goodies from abroad??" "No more trips to singapore(my fav destination till date!!)" and then the realization "DADS STAYING HOME WITH ME" :)... At 22 today niether he or me regretted this decision of his. Hes the closest person to my heart today and the best thing about him he has never changed in these two decades of my life...(did i mention jes become a little fat ??) Today morning it was a conversation of just 10 seconds as he wished me on my birthday as hes been doing for the ;ast so many years (yeah yeah am aging!!!).
It wasnt a "Happy Birthday to you"... for him it will always be his 4 years old daughter trying to imitate him "Happy Kiki to you Betu"
