I love you

With this title of my post, there is a girl who would definitely get panicked. This one might not be the best of my posts and it is not intended to be.

The other day I was talking on phone with one of my friends. He mentioned that I was an overachiever son of my father. According to him, everything my father did for me was no different from what my neighbor's father did for him. And that I went past through many such neighbors and stand out of the crowd today. Conversation was over. Somehow, I was not comfortable with what he said and I had to retrospect to frisk his claims.

I love you papa. January 1 may not be the best day to celebrate fatherhood, but then emotions flowed and I penned down the reasons I love my father.

• He was my only friend when I started walking and wanted to play outside my lawn.
• He bought me the toy bicycles and my first bicycle.
• He gave me a small ride on his Bajaj Chetak before he went to his office every day.
• He played cricket with me when I had no-one else to play with. He tried hard to make me a batsman, while I always wanted to swing the bails off.
• He never said NO to me flying kites. He enjoyed the festival of Makar Sakranti with me.
• He took me to Ramleela every year of my childhood and every year was unique.
• He bought me Diwali crackers and taught me how to burst them
• He gave Rs 11 every Sunday to buy 1Kg of Jalebi because he knew how fond I was of sweets.
• He sent me to a convent school when all of his friends sent their kids to KV. This was the first time when he believed in my intellectual asset.
• He took me to Gayatri Havana every Sunday and taught how to perform the puja.
• He wrote the speeches which I recited to win all the appreciation in school.
• He wanted me to appear for all the competitive exams where I excelled year after year.
• He taught me how and why to read newspapers. He made me sit in front of talk shows and quizzed me on the contemporary personalities.
• He attended every parents-teacher meeting at my school
• He awarded me with an Amul chocolate bar after my satisfactory performance in an academic year at school
• He took me to the barber shop for my first haircut and then he taught me how to shave 15 years after.
• He takes me to a Diwali cracker shop with the same enthusiasm even today when I am 25
• He never said NO for any book that I have ever bought.
• He lived away from my mother for 2 straight years just for my sake and for the sake of IIT JEE. Yes, IIT took those 2 beautiful years out of my parents' lives too.
• He was besides my bed for the numerous times I contracted Jaundice in my teenage.
• He was the one besides me when IIT Kanpur welcomed me.
• He came to visit me at IIT even when I refused to go back home for vacations. He was the one who was more happy to see IIT campus than me.
• He attended my convocation ceremony at IIT Kanpur just to narrate me how beautiful the day was. 
• He has never lost his patience whatsoever and taught me how to be patient.
• He takes me to my grandfather's place so that I know how different his childhood was from mine.
• He made me know how much a farmer loves his land and bullock cart.
• And the most convincing of them, he taught me how to love a father.

The reasons that I just boasted off might be the reasons for every father in the neighborhood. But then how does it matter. Every father deserves a distinguished love from his son/daughter. It is these more non-subtle things that bring me a subtle happiness and satisfaction today. One of my really close friends told me how much I need to be satisfied and enjoy my success till now. I have started to find reasons why I must be happy. Lets not forget efforts of a father , for they might look ordinary but the fruits they bear are extraordinary.