The conversation

‘Mom, where is papa?’ she asked in her happy, excited voice.

‘In the guest room’, her mother replied shaking her head in disapproval and she rushed towards the guest room. She entered the room to find her father sitting quietly on the sofa and looking blankly at the wall. The room was dimly lit. He wore no expressions on his face. However, his face was calm. She walked towards him, sit beside him and hugged his arm affectionately. He didn’t notice her coming, he was too involved in his thoughts. ‘Come beta’ He hugged her affectionately.

‘Are you fine dad?’ She asked, concerned about her father sitting lonely.

‘I am so happy for you beta’ he assured her.

‘You look stressed’

‘oh no no no, I am not stressed at all. In fact my stress has been washed out. You were my biggest stress, and you’ll be gone soon.’ Tears rolled down his cheeks. There were myriad expressions on his face. He had a smile of happiness. His face sparkled with pride, the pride of being a father of such amazing daughter. However his eyes were sad. His daughter was going to be married in less than a week. ‘Papa!’ she felt short of words. She wiped the tears on his face with her warm hands and hugged him. She couldn’t hold her tears though.

‘You know I still remember when I took you in my arms for the first time. I remember that face, that smile so vividly as if it was yesterday.’ And his face gleamed with warm, pleasant memories.

‘Wasn’t I crying like other child?’ she inquired in excitement.

‘No, you weren’t. You had always been a lovely daughter’ He smiled.

‘You know what had been my biggest fear ever since?’ He asked. Her eyes broadened. She couldn’t believe her father had a fear. Her father was a very strong man who would move mountains for her.

‘Fear? You were afraid for me?’ She asked. He nodded in acceptance.

‘umm, you were not sure how would you raise such naughty daughter?’ He laughed and shook his head.

‘You were concerned about my studies? About my career?’ She asked. ‘But I had been a good student’ She brushed-off the idea herself.

‘You were worried I might get into some bad habits? Like drugs, alcohol?’ His father erupted with laughter. ‘Never, such a thought never crossed my mind’ said the proud father. Now she was confused. She couldn’t imagine what might be the fear of his father. Inter-caste marriage, she thought but immediately rejected the thought. She was going to have an inter-caste marriage, she realized.

‘Then?’ she asked.

‘ok, so let me tell you something. My biggest fear was that my daughter shouldn’t be stupid like her mother’ he said. She didn’t understand. She looked at her father and her gaze followed her father’s gaze. The mother was standing by the door. But she wasn’t offended, in fact she stood there smiling.

She looked back at her father and he was also smiling. She was even more confused.

‘I don’t understand’ she asked, puzzled.

‘You know I was a mischievous kid in my teenage days’ Her eyebrows raised, eyes broadened. There was something he was about to  unveil today.

‘Why would you say that?’ she asked.

‘I was doing all sort of things which are not good’

‘Like?’

‘Like I was pretty bad at studies. I would barely score sixty-something. I would indulge in street fight.’ She listened silently as he continued. ‘We would bunk the classes to watch movies in the morning shows. They were cheap. They would show old films but it was still better then attending classes in the college. We would sometimes play cards the entire day, bunking classes’ He laughed, though he looked bit embarrassed on sharing his roguish college days with his daughter. ‘I remember we would make lame excuses for night studies at friend’s place while we would actually go partying.’

‘So which were your favourite clubs?’ she asked teasing father.

‘No no no’ he laughed ‘we didn’t had enough money for clubs. We would gather at somebody’s house. Sometimes we would spend entire night in some park drinking whole night. We had done all wicked things in those days’

‘With whom were you watching those romantic movies?’ she asked playfully teasing her father. ‘Did you had an affair?’

‘with Friends’ he laughed sheepishly ‘a couple of them’ he didn’t reveal too much. ‘Yeah, so I was that kind of guy I would never want for my daughter. I’m happy you choose such intelligent and nice man as your life partner. I don’t know why your mother married me and let me remind you, it was a love marriage. That’s why I call her a stupid women’

‘Don’t say that Papa, you had been the best father in the world. You are the best man in the world. I love You’ She said ‘ and if I were mumma, I would have done the same’ she said laughing.

‘I would repeat the same mistake over and over, I’m glad I was stupid’ The mother said smiling.