Jun 20, 2010
He is my mentor, my care-taker, my pillar of strength, my best ever friend. He is my dad – a man with the great calibre, sense of humour and spirit of life.
Some things will always be in style. Good solid things like honesty, trust and caring about people. It’s qualities like these that keep us aware of who we are and what we can give to life. It's qualities like these that my dad has taught me to value through his influence, his example and his love. It has made me love him very much and I’m proud to tell the world ‘Hey that’s my dad’.
A father-child is one of the most rewarding relationships. Yes, a father’s guiding hand on our shoulder will remain with us forever. It is rightly said that one father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.
I chose to talk about father’s role as it is Father’s Day. I personally feel this day has to be given special prominence. But sadly, not many are aware that Father’s Day is observed on the third Sunday of June.
Fewer know how it all began. In 1909, a Mother’s Day sermon at church inspired a Washington resident Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children being raised by a single-dad to honour her father. She encouraged local churches to institute the first Father’s Day observance the next year and the idea has since caught on. Father’s Day became a national holiday in the US in 1912, when president Richard Nixon declared it to be the third Sunday of June. India is yet to realize the importance of the day.
Father’s Day is dedicated to men who give strength, warmth and respect to their families. Father’s role is as vital as that of mothers. Their absence in parenting can be easily felt by anyone. Growing up with both the biological parents is so very essential for a child.
Some people have a wrong notion that a father’s love and care cannot match to that of a mother. They assume fathers cannot perform a mother’s role. But it is untrue. They too can be as good as mothers. Their love and care too is unconditional. There are numerous fathers around the world who are so sincerely involved in the upbringing of their children. From changing diapers to cooking fathers, these days dads are in no way less in discharging their duties than mothers.
So here I salute all the loving fathers who are a source of inspiration to their children. And this one’s to my dear father – ‘Dad, you’re someone to look up to no matter how tall I’ve grown”. Happy Father’s Day.
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