Meet My Dad

Meet my Dad!


The world calls him by many names,
I call him Pa and sometimes, Dad
More than just a typical father
He has been the greatest friend I have ever had

I remember Pa teaching me mathematics
And how hard he would always try
To my never-ending silly questions,
‘It’s about logic’, was his reply

Yet, when I still failed
He never took it too much to heart
And always patted my back with
‘You have to make a fresh start’

I remember once a woman remarked
On my poor spoken English and accent
He came to my rescue praising me
On my speaking and singing talent

He took all the pains
To teach us to speak English
And taught me to ride bicycle
And my brother, how to do ‘shoe-polish’

How I miss his bedtime stories
That he narrated to us with great flair
And all this after a long day’s work
That was the extent of his care

I can’t forget his rustic anecdotes
Of how he grew up in ‘khalghat’
How he climbed trees as a child
And drove his schoolteachers mad


I cherish his experiences as a Bible speaker
For I have watched him deliver
The most fascinating facts of the book
Without a tinge of anxiety or quiver

By the time we grew up
We knew most of the Bible stories
Learnt to appreciate our existence
And thank God for His glories

I remember how carefully he
Made us learn to cope with life’s realities
And ignored a lot of our misgivings
Forgiving our numerous infirmities

When I took up journalism
He wasn’t surprised
He knew after all, I have his DNA
And so writing became my enterprise

Abhi inherited Dad’s anger
And a lot of his sensibility
I got my curls from him
And of course, his positivity

Oh how I miss his silly jokes
And some of his very stupid shayari
And when I’d grumble for insulting ‘urdu’
He would get away with “Just a joke, sweety”

To life’s trials and difficulties
He taught us to be brave and strong
But I have been missing all his lessons
And his rebukes now for so long



‘Grow up’, he keeps telling me often
and thinks I am still a kid
Yet, spends sleepless nights missing me
He himself is like a child, every bit

I tell him, “Dad, u also need to grow up
To be a father to a grown-up child”
And so he sublimes a bit
For his feelings are so sweet and mild

Every time he remembers me
He gives me a call
Saying, “Just wanted to hear your voice,
My child, that’s all”

He says, “I am proud of you”
And makes me feel every inch good
In every small and big decisions of mine
Beside me, he has always stood

I can’t thank God enough for my Dad
And how he has been such a blessing
And yes, I forgot to tell you
He also has a great sense of dressing

I miss you Pa very much here
Now that we are quite far
Still your memories make me smile
Your lessons guide me like a star

‘Thank you’, Dad
for being the best Dad on earth,
for inspiring me to be a good daughter and for loving me so, I know I am not worth

Close to my heart

This poem is closest to my heart. Once I had asked some of my students to suggest a title to it, still havent been able to get the 'perfect' one for this. So do read and suggest a title:

That one special glance,
a warm smile
My heart beats faster,
As I walk in my dreamsMile after mile

You seem like a friend sometimes
Or become my guide
That twinkle in your eyes
Gives me a roller coaster ride

When I fall at times,
You offer your hand
But it does hurt when you choose
To just stay afar and stand

I look beyond your face
I look into your heart
Is there some space for me
A relationship to start?

When I talk to you, I feel
Like I am flying high and high
And often I don’t realize it
Till I come down from the sky

And then suddenly, you walk away
And as I watch you go
I feel like your presence is but,
For a moment, like a beautiful rainbow

It lasts for some moments,
That are precious and sweet
They give me a lifetime of memories
Those I often greet! --Mukti Masih

Old melodies re-visited

My aunt knocked on my room's door at about 6.45 pm last Sunday only to find Me and Pa singing "Deewaron se milkar rona".....She wasn't surprised though. It was exactly seven whole months after I and Dad got time to sit and do our usual 'revisiting old melodies' exercise on his harmonium.....
I got suddently hooked to the tune of "Aaj jane ke zid na karo..."found it a little too high, so Pa lowered the pitch a bit.......he then sang all these amazing melodies like "Chahunga mein tujhe sanjh savere".....wow......it was so much fun to explore these classics...
Before we got tired of singing, Dad asked to sing "Ab na ja" by Euphoria....he loved it!
It was not just fun but a refreshing exercise for me as I missed all this in Pune since last 7 months......