IN MEMORY OF MY “VISIONARY” FATHER, by Deepak Sharma

IN MEMORY OF MY “VISIONARY” FATHER

On this World’s Father Day, I would like to put before you a question- what would you be without your father? I hope we don’t have to scratch our heads to know the answer. But this very question sums up the role that a father plays in the life of an individual. But a father is the unsung hero who never gets the kind of recognition that he deserves. In an Indian set- up in traditional terms, he is still seen as the one who goes out from the house with his tiffin in hand in the morning and returns at night to get the day’s report of the children who generally carry the feeling that it is the mother who looks after them caringly and understands them truly, but the father unnecessarily dictates his terms without any emotional leanings.

Though times have changed and the size of the family has shrunk considerably, as the modern parents are following strict family planning of having two kids. Many couples are restricting themselves to have a single kid to cope with the rising cost and work pressure. This new trend may have brought to the surface the emotional side of the father but the mother still rules the hearts of the children when it comes to sharing emotional bonding. The father earns the bread and the mother spreads love and care is still the general feeling that is still prevalent in the society.

The real side of the story remains hidden from the children until they grow big enough to enter into the family life of their own. Only after stepping into the role of a parent, does a person understand the pangs, worries, cares and difficulties that a father undergoes for running the household and bringing up the children. Like a chorus in a song, he remains in the background but plays an important part to keep the life of their kids in a sweet melody. Father is the one who is always available for you as a support in the torrid phase of life and he has the magic of bailing you out from the toughest of situations. Father is that idol of sacrifice whose unexpressed but unconditional love provides the best of care to his children.

My father my vision – on personal notes, I always felt unfathomable love that my father showered on me and he always showed me the right path and gave me an infallible vision. He was visually impaired but he was an enlightened soul. My father, Kashmiri Lal Sharma was born in the town Kasur in Lahore in present Pakistan on the day of Baisakhi on April 13 1947, merely four months before the great bloodshed and the partition of India. And barely at the tender age of eight months, he was taken ill with chickenpox which left him permanently blind. But that was only a physical impairment, which failed to deter his inner strength throughout his life. He had the will to rise in life and he took admission in the Blinds Home at Ferozepur at the age of eight years. He excelled in studies and handcrafts. He went on to pursue M. Ed in Braille script. He chose the profession of teaching as he nurtured the ambition to enlighten the lives of people like him with education. He worked at the Blinds Home for 38 long years spanning from 1955 to 1993. Later, he joined DIET Ferozepur to serve as a Hindi teacher.

Many a time, when I found myself groping in the dark to come out from the mental quagmires, he always came to my rescue and showed me the way, rather held me from fingers to come out from the darkness. Many of his visually impaired students are well- settled in life and owe him a great deal of gratitude for showing them a new light to lead a successful and purposeful life.

My father is no more on this earth, he breathed his last on September 22, 2019. My life got another big jolt in a span of two years. To tell you honestly, even during the big shattering experience of life when I lost my only son in a road accident, he gave me the courage to rise and do something for the society in name of my son. That led to the formation of the Mayank Foundation, which has made my son immortal. His will still shows me the way whenever I feel on the lower ebbs of my life. He must be caressing his grandson in his arms in the Heavens. My life is never the same and it will never be, I know, but as long as his spirit is on my side as my saviour, I will strive to follow his mantra of happiness- “live your life in service to humanity.”

Edited by Anmol Sharma