Exemplar

2 AM at night. I got out of bed for wash room, sweat-soaked. Remember those 90's summer nights when "load-shedding” after or at the time of dinner was compulsion and if the current used to come back before we go to bed, the "yayy" scream used to be unfailingly louder than it was to be for India's victory over Pakistan! I got out of my room dozily. A vague hint of light from the drawing room called for vigilance.  Eyes half opened, I could see a shadow on the wall- a stooping silhouette. Blood ran cold, I took some time to fathom and muster the courage to step forward.

Baba- completing my biology practical drawings (homework) in the faint light of the lantern. I went to sleep at eleven that night when he was not even back home from office. I didn’t know when he returned, when he had dinner; what I knew for sure was that I need to follow the way he is. Doused in sweat, he was relentless with his drawing. He couldn’t see me. I silently gleaned ‘commitment’, 'diligence', 'care' that he scattered all over the room and reposited them safely in my pocket and came out of the room.

Yes, Baba, my father, the first man of my life is the one who flashes in my mind when you ask about my role model. Platitude? Yes it is but true. Some things never get clichéd and even if they, they are just nice to be so.

Baba used to do a special puja on my exam days and used to give me ‘thakur-er phool’ (flower that he offered to the God) every time and the same special puja used to happen when our sweeper’s son, phoolwali’s( the one who sells flower) son, fish-wala’s daughter used to give exams and the same ‘thakur-er phool’ used to reach to them before they enter the examination hall!  And when the result-day would come, I had seen the same tension in his face that he had on my result day. I have never seen such a bleeding heart all through my life of 30years and now you know the reason enough of he being my superstar! Again I gathered the meaning of ‘Love’, ‘altruism’ and ‘open mind-ness’ that were heaped here and there around him. Safely pocketed.

 The man who doesn’t yet know the meaning of complain, the one who himself would define the word’ Endurance’, the one who is always ready to tailor himself for other’s need is ‘the man of steel’ of my life who for sure would be stealing your heart away even in the first meet and would leave you still in awe.

One day, I brought out all the things I gathered in my pocket in a desire to acquire all of them together; I stitched them altogether. I stitched Love with commitment and diligence with endurance and care with selflessness and when done; voila!! it tooks an image which looks like BABA!! I realised I can’t acquire all those he has, I can only learn and still learning, every moment. Take a bow, Baba!!

I am writing about #MyRoleModel as a part of the activity by Gillette India in association with BlogAdda.com.