I Walk The Line

A loving tribute to a wonderful father…

- Malini K H

Life gave me a head start by blessing me with the best parents in this world. As a parent myself, I completely understand the constant need to protect and shelter my child from the harsher aspects of this world. Being a parent now, I totally appreciate the way I was brought up with the right balance of liberty and discipline. Of course, my mother has been extremely special. But today, this tribute is to the man who is the backbone of our family, who is an extremely endearing father to me and my sibling.

I had an absolutely rocking childhood because of my dad. We're both girls and I am the younger one. I am sure there was a lot of anticipation regarding my gender when I was safe in my mother's womb. The family always lays down more expectations than the actual parents. I am certain there might have been a slight disappointment even for my father. But it must have been just momentary. I grew up like a boy in the family. There was nothing that my father restricted me from trying, be it male-dominated sport or high-end competitive academics. I got better facilities and encouragement than most of my batchmates. For a very long time, I did not realize that things were being given to me on a platter because my dad was working very hard in the background. I took everything for granted. Stepping into adolescence, I started noticing the amount of hard work and effort he was investing in order to give us all the privileges we had.

There are many things he has taught us and many ways in which he has mentored us. But there are facets to his personality that taught me so much more about life. I feel like sharing a few of those moments that altered my perception and gained my perspective in the process.