DAUGHTER'S DAY

Yesterday was the daughter’s day. Singular for me plural for some. I have only one daughter SURUCHI. Single but worthy of dozen. She is younger of my two kids. Like almost all younger kid, she was more dear. My both kids were so pretty as small children that they would draw attention where ever they went. Suruchi received more as girl. Ours is almost a joint family. My elder brother has only son “Jagdish” elder to her. Coming after two boys she was bound to be more favored in the house. At least till Reema & Mana arrived.

Salil was good six years old than her. We always thought of her as small kid till he was alive. She grew by several years on the night of his death. We were in USA at the time. My friend and then MP Prakash Paranjpe was trying to talk us out of waiting for our arrived for funeral. He thought we will have tough time to gather enough people for his funeral. It was our Lions friend and Suruchi who proved him wrong. When we boarded off the plain and got into waiting car, she hold our hands as nobody else could have. She was no more a small kid.

Being charismatic herself, she brought us out of gloom. She was involved in romantic way to Amit by now. She confided into me and soon a love marriage was converted into arranged marriage. No regrets for that I think. She had best of the both. Only thing I asked Amit when he came to ask her hand was promise to care for four parents instead of two. A promise so well kept by them both. Now she is perfect elder sister to cousins from my side and perfect younger sister to cousins from her mother’s side. In fact now she is indispensable not only to us but to all her cousins either here or in USA.

Very beautiful, fierce fully intelligent, she is our pride. I wont praise her on face being conservative myself. I have hunch that she will not read this blog and therefore I ma taking this liberty to praise her.

We share a rare relationship where she is loved respected and yes also feared by at least me if not by us. After all now she is the only one to carry our legacy to what ever kind of world we will leave behind. I don’t know who will care less, the world, herself or myself.

We wanted to spend evening with Amit, she and Rohan. Could not be materialise. No problem We hope there will be another year granted to us by God for another daughter’s day.

Arvind Khare
Khare_am@yahoo.com