Dad’s Princess - Papa ki Pari

“My Dad’s Strongest” the famous line from a toothpaste brand is closest to my views about My Dad (and I think most of the gals would agree with me). We never grow out of thinking that our dad knows everything and I have no intention of doing so ever. On the same lines, I think if he does not know about something, it is not worth knowing.

I managed to watch “Main Prem ki Diwani hu” and miracle I still am able to watch hindi movies. The only good part of the otherwise pathetic movie was the track “Papa ki pari hu main” and I made Dad hear the whole thing (not watch, coz loving my dad so much, I could not torture him by asking him to watch Kareena Kapoor). And his reaction was a typical Punjabi Dad types – “Huh ye koi gana he”….with a sweet smile.

I have been pampered and most people would say spoilt but with love & confident that things would happen the way I want them to. This attitude made a lot of people call me princess (and I am one, for and because of, my Dad). He is the one who loves me the most (along with Mom and bro, of course), criticizes me the most, pushes me to limit and does not accept that I should give up trying. Through all my low phases, one constant factor was my dad standing with me and urging me to fight. He has never tried to make me dependent on him rather he says - Face it, Fight the odds and if ever anytime you feel tired or think you can’t , just look beside you, I would be there and take it forward for you. But this does not mean that I have done everything on my own. I have never stood in any line to collect any forms or submit them, never asked around how to fill and where to submit them; enquired about routes and restaurants close to my institutions….Dad did all this for me. My only task was to tell him what I wanted and it would be done. The fact is that he hated and still hates me going out in hot afternoons, chilly winter evenings and gets scared if I get wet in rain(which I love doing). I am my Dad’s favourite and everybody who knows him, would testify this. The easiest way to get into his good books is being nice to me.

The flip side is that - he knows me too well and I can’t fool him. He knows when I am fooling around and when I genuinely try. He sets real high standards for me and then expects me to meet them. Not allowing me to rest till it happens. And, as he and I are a lot alike, all this leads to a lot of arguments coz even I set targets for myself which very often are different than his. On these occasions, which my mom and bro call fights but I and dad term them as discussions, nobody else is allowed to speak. We shout, scream and move out of the room (sometimes I think we both enjoy these discussions) and after a few minutes one of us calls the other after reading or seeing something interesting. This amuses the rest of the family like anything. He has been trying for years now to make me go on morning walks, be punctual and remain active and inspite of meeting so many failures(I just can’t be all these 3) being the man he is , he is just NOT ready to give up. So battle lines are always drawn. I can parrot his lines (read lecture) on these topics word by word anytime.

Do I resent this attitude? No. Why should I? One can easily live with all this if the positive side includes a safety net always available , a protective ring around me to save me from everything and a selfless love for me that has been there even before I came into this world. Dad would allow nothing and no one to hurt me; to do that you have to get past him. A small sneeze of mine makes him go through all medicines at home and a little headache makes me the most pampered member of the family. My Dad loves me and does not hesitate to show that Love. Probably this is what makes me so confident and urges me to be what I am. Love u too, Dad.



P.S : I forgot to mention - Do not ever dare to/try to criticize me in front of him, unless wearing a body armour coz that is one right he has given only to himself and mom.