The day I turned Thirty, I
received the ultimate gift of my life. For years I'd been mourning the loss of
my beloved wife, my first love. That day, I lost myself, a part of me. After
spending several years together with her, I had realized that her absence killed me every day. Life without
her was miserable. It is wisely said that
life without a companion is like a rudderless boat. I felt like a man
rescued from shipwreck. My love for her was so intense that no one could fill
the void created by her in my life
except one person. She was my daughter, the one who completed my life. She was
a complete package of happiness, the only joy of my life. She brought smile on my face whenever I felt
lonely or depressed. For her, I was a doting daddy who loved her more than
anyone. As she turned Two, I struggled to raise her. I had a dual role to play,
that of a mother and a father. But I never wanted her to miss her mother. I
would often turn speechless whenever she asked me about her mother. This
confrontation distressed me. I used to control my emotions whenever I was
subjected to the same question again and
again.
At
Five, I decided to enroll her to a school where famous people studied. At first
,she hesitated for the fear of missing me, but eventually she acquiesced to my
demands. I wanted her to excel in life, to be someone famous. She had a
supportive and an erudite teacher, who encouraged and motivated her throughout
her school life. As she grew up, I learned that she craved for maternal love.
It was the first time I realized that life was strange. I struggled everyday to
play this dual role of a father and a mother, but she still missed her mother.
I had no answers to her questions. Her fractious behaviour would anger me at
times but I would control myself. Those days I worked in MTNL. Owing to this, I
would get to come home early. I used to visit her school to pick her up. I would stand outside her
classroom and observe her, her every single gesture and actions. I would smile
from the window as my daughter answered every question that her teacher asked. As
the school bell rings, she would come running towards me and hug me. We would
drive to the Juhu Garden and stroll
there for hours. She would play inside the
Airplane structure. She would slide
from the slides. During one such day, she fell down from the slide and
injured herself. My heart skipped a beat when I saw my daughter lying on a pool
of blood. She was nursing her fractured legs. I took 3 weeks leave and decided
to take care of her. I would feed her, cook delicious food and play games with
her. The doctor said that it was quite common and such injuries do happen to
kids of her age. She was slowly recovering but she found it difficult to walk.
I would assist her as she walked in our building compound. I held her fingers
as she took baby steps. Her heart would yearn to play with the kids from our
society as we walked. A walking stick helped her to regain her balance. That
was the time, I was quite sure that she must have missed her mother. But I
never let that happen.
At
Twelve, she made me feel that she was
growing up quickly. That was the time, she desperately missed her mother. However
hard I tried to play a mothers role, but there are few things which only a
mother could understand. It was that phase, where my grown up was maturing into
a woman. It is said that girls would share such sensitive things only to their mothers and sisters. That was when I realized
the importance of a woman in my life. My wife
would have taken care of her. But soon
my beloved learned things. She decided to cope up with life. She started
taking up responsibilities. She learned cooking from our neighbours and never
let me inside the kitchen. It was then I realized that my little baby was
growing up quickly. As days passed, she started improving her culinary skills.
She would cook delicious food items for me. She was good at studies. I still remember the day
when she drenched her bed with tears when she secured 2nd rank in Class 9. It was difficult for me to appease
her as she was brilliant in studies. At Fifteen, she secured Merit position in
CBSE boards and I became a proud daddy of a rank holder. I distributed sweets
to my friends and neighbors to celebrate my daughters achievement. Tears
welled in my eyes when she said that her mother would be happy to see her
achievement. Even I believed so. My daughter was turning into a beautiful
woman. My friends often used to compliment her for her beauty.
At
Eighteen , she enrolled for Engineering
in a top Engineering college. But for
that she would require to relocate to New Delhi and live in a hostel. I quickly learned that I
would require to train my mind to live without her. She pursued her higher
education in New Delhi. My fragile heart could not accept her absence. I
decided to take Voluntary retirement from my work for my daughter and went to live with her. I could still remember the
happiness and smile on her face when she saw me. I hugged her so
tight that no one could separate me and my daughter. I soon took up a job of an editor in Navbharat Times. She would
come up with witty ideas and concepts for the editorial sections. As she turned
Twenty, she exhibited her creative side. She organised some events in her college - IIT, Delhi. She was the
General Secretary of the Students Council.
My
face gleamed with pride when I was invited for an annual award function at the
IIT. My daughter was awarded with the ‘best
student of IIT’ award for her achievements. She never ceased to make me proud.
I missed my wife that day. Tears of happiness rolled down my cheeks as she
invited me to the podium. Every one
appreciated my daughter for her achievements. I would not stop smiling. She
thanked me in front of over thousand people and cited that I was the man behind
all her achievements. I could not control the tears rolling from my eyes as I
hugged her. I soon realized that I was turning old, I thought that I should get her married to a handsome
man. She soon completed her higher studies from IIT. I requested her to get
married. She insisted that she won't get
married before completing her MBA. She
had her own priorities and goals in life. As she turned Twenty Five, she introduced me to a handsome
man, just like what I had envisioned for my daughter. She said that she loved
him and wanted to marry him. She reduced my work of searching a groom. I smiled
at both of them and got them married after they completed their MBA. They both
worked in the same Organization. She worked in Sales and my son in law managed
the Finance department. She gave birth
to a beautiful girl. It was a proud moment for me as I held the feeble being on
my hands. Her tender body, soft fingers and pretty face reminded me of her mother, my
daughter. The baby grew up to be pretty girl just like my daughter, her mother.
But, by that time I had already turned into an old man. I would spend my time
with my granddaughter , often teaching and playing games with her. I would
narrate her mother’s achievements to her.
When
I turned Eighty, I saw myself lying on the bed. I was turning to a weak old man with drooping shoulders. I could hardly see and hear
anything. But I always wanted to tell my daughter a secret. The year I turned
Thirty, I received the ultimate gift of my life. For years I'd been mourning
the loss of my beloved wife, my first love. She had perished during her pregnancy,
giving birth to a child which never saw
the world. I had lost my wife and my child. My life would have been a mess if I
hadn't met a beautiful angel, my pride possession. I saw a new born baby lying
on the street, unattended, screeching and surrounded by people. And there were none
,who were willing to accept her. I took her home and cleaned her. This angel
later turned out to be the girl who transformed my life upside. My life was
full of sorrow before I met her but she transformed my melancholies into joy. My feeble heart wanted
to tell her this truth whenever she bombarded me with several questions about
her mother. I would blatantly refuse to budge as I never wanted to hurt her.
But today I mustered enough courage to say her the secret, my deep secret.
As
I lie on the bed, I look around people who stand by my side. I see my grand
children , my son in law and my beloved daughter. Her face had turned ashen
because of crying. I didn’t want her to cry. For all these years I had been her
father and a mother. How could I tell her that I was not her father. I wish I
could tell her everything, but I just
couldn't. I could visualize angel of death inviting me. I had lots to say to my
beloved daughter. I wanted to share her the secrets. I smiled at them as I
closed my eyes for once and forever. And there was complete silence!
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Introduced By: Vipul Grover, Participation Count: 11
सुन्दर प्रस्तुति
ReplyDeleteDhanyavad Sir!
DeleteHi TSW,
ReplyDeleteWow, that was a lovely read. Quite a secret which the father had to hide in order to keep his daughter happy. No point in telling her the truth at the end of it all. Maybe he should have told her when she became mature enough and ready for marriage.
Enjoyed reading your take on the prompt. :)
Regards
Jay
My Newest Blog Post | My Entry to Indiblogger Get Published
Aww, lovely story that shows the beauty and strength of emotions and love does not really depend on whether the individuals are related by blood or not. Beautiful tale. Best wishes for the contest.
ReplyDeleteDeepa.
Deepa's Kaleidoscope
Thanks Deepa
DeleteThis is SO beautiful and threw me off gaurd! what a beautiful portrayal of relationships that are not necessarily kin and kith.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!
Kappu - Happily never after
Thank you Kappu for the wonderful words.
Deletebeautifully penned :)
ReplyDeletend all d bst for BAT
Thanks
Delete:) emotionally touching, all the luck TSW!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Saro
DeleteBeautiful story . . .
ReplyDeletethanks
DeleteHey guys,
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hey spammer
DeleteHey guys,
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Hey guys,
ReplyDeleteWanted to share some stuff with you. I used Vistaprint for some embroidered t-shirts with logo. Damn impressed. Check it out if you can.
Awwed completely. Very touchy twist.
ReplyDeleteThanks , PL
DeleteWow TSW. Simply amazing. It was gripping and emotional at the same time. Great going. :)
ReplyDeleteHarshal >:D<
Deletebeautiful tale. loved it. Just wish it was a true story! would reaffirm my faith in the human race :) ATB
ReplyDeletehere's my link
http://justanotherwakeupcall.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/the-forgotten-god-poe/
thanks !
Deletewonderful! very well narrated..slowly and steadily. some secrets are best kept safely!!:)
ReplyDeleteAkila
PS: by the way, congrats! for getting published in "Uff! ye emotions!" :)
thanks. I hope you read it ;)
DeleteGreat story- till the end i could not guess the twist.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your publication!!!!!
thanks :)
Deleteunexpected ending...:) i love that.
ReplyDeletethanks Ratz
Deletenever knew the story would end that way. . a poignant albeit compassionate tale of the protagonist . . the compassion he showed should be an eye opener for the selfish minds out there . . the narration was lucid yet gripping too . . loved it :)
ReplyDeletethanks dear
DeleteThat was a lot of life packed in one post. Good stuff. I would have liked if you elaborated more on the dilemma of the father on not being able to tell his daughter that he wasn't who she thought he was.
ReplyDeleteI seriously wish to write but i had written this in haste..thanks
Delete~_~ keep up the good work! u made me emo readin it...
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
DeleteAwww...loved the way the story concluded...beautiful narration!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteVery well written. The emotions of a single parent were etched beautifully. The narration was so good that the 'twist' was not needed in one sense but then it also showed another aspect of life. The man could have chosen to drown into his sorrows so much so that he could ignore the helpless kid but he went the other way becoming the Father of the child (of course, li'l bit of his need of a companion was there as well still the duty he performed was larger).
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Ree....you know i feel happy when I see you here ..You should visit quite often! :)
DeleteNicely done. You built up the story well and maintained it right till the end.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteBeautifully narrated. It reiterates what I had written in one of the several posts that I had written on this most precious relationship.... Any fool can become a father, but it takes a MAN to become a true Dad.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully narrated. It reiterates what I had written in one of the several posts that I had written on this most precious relationship.... Any fool can become a father, but it takes a MAN to become a true Dad.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully narrated. It reiterates what I had written in one of the several posts that I had written on this most precious relationship.... Any fool can become a father, but it takes a MAN to become a true Dad.
ReplyDelete