My daddy strongest!

One person in the world who fascinates me entirely is my father. He's a phenomenal boss, concerned sibling, doting husband and an absolutely kick-ass dad.

Each parent has their own style of parenting. My mother, like every other mother of a single-neurotic child worries about me constantly, tries shielding me from every possible evil in the world and treats me like a queen.

My dad on the other hand is a parent like no other I've seen so far. I don't recall a single time when he has actually forbidden me from doing something. He does not keep asking if you're safe or all right. He believes in the philosophy of life where in "You learn from your mistakes".

I still recall my first accident. I was still a new driver and I had a small skirmish with an auto guy. I panicked and called my dad.
"Appa, I had an accident"
"Are you hurt?"
"No no. The car has a small scratch though. This guy is yelling at me and I don't understand anything"
"Figure out something. Just pay him some money or something"
Click. End of conversation.
I was mighty pissed at the time but I came home a much stronger person. Well, that is how the man is. He presumes that you just learn from the problems in your life and move on.

I had my first alcoholic drink with my father and I've never enjoyed a drink with anyone as much as I do with my dad. There is something special which happens when you sit and talk with another person over a mug of beer. I am sure all you beer drinkers will agree. :)

Few months after that, when we were out at dinner, I asked if I could drink anything other than beer, he promptly ordered a blue flaming drink with vodka in it. And I being the ignoramus that I am, drank the whole thing in under five minutes. I could barely stand. I quietly told my dad that I was feeling woozy. My mother started hyperventilating. Of course, I can't blame her. A drunk me could not have been a pretty sight. My dad was amused . Yes, you heard right, amused. He was trying to suppress laughter and that restraint was, I am sure, only because of my mum.
We skipped dinner and came home. By now I was getting worried. I was feeling plain yuck. My mother was walking behind me with a terribly worried look on her face. She looked at my dad for some assistance and my dad very calmly replied "Just keep drinking water. You'll be fine". And I was fine, though I think it has put me off alcohol for life.

And this man has the greatest sense of humour as long as the sales figures for the week are all right. :). Everytime he cracks a joke, I try to keep my face straight and tell him "That was such a pathetic joke. You really should try harder" but before i barely complete the sentence I burst out laughing. At every wedding, family gathering, he's the life of the party. :

Ooh! The best part is I have a complete vocabulary of bad words in Tamil and English, thanks to him. Much to my mother's dismay, our breakfast conversations include lessons on particular words, their meaning and how they are supposed to be used. :) Now I can confidently cuss as good as any auto driver in Chennai.

I've learnt so much from him. His people skills are phenomenal. His concern for everyone around him. His passion for what he is doing. The optimist in him. The sheer confidence. And the absolute love that he has for his family. Though he appears to be passive and unemotional, that man in reality is a bundle of emotions. And anytime , he has a weak moment and tells me how much he'll miss me and the like, I, being the caring daughter that I am threaten to tell the whole world that "My daddy just told me he misses me. Ha!".

I know I don't say this often enough. Love u daddy!

To drive or not to drive

Being a woman driver on Indian roads is not fun. Believe me! You are judged on your competence as a driver as soon as you sit in the driver's seat. Hmph!!

My dad's favourite game is irking the feminist in me. If a car stalls in front of us or is taking an inappropriate turn, he'll turn dramatically and say slowly "Ah! Thought as much. It is a woman at the wheel". This pissed me off to no end until I invented the greatest experiment of all. I would sit eagerly in the front seat while my dad drove and as soon as a car stalled in front of us/inched along like a snail/drove past us like Satan was at their heels, I would innocently bat my eyelashes and tell him "I might be mistaken but isn't that a man driving, daddy?" I continued doing this till I drove (pun intended!) home the fact that there were just two kinds of drivers-good and bad irrespective of sex. My dad returned home a wiser man though seriously regretting allowing me to choose Feminism as an elective.

I have to admit though that being a woman driver does have its fun bits. My favourite activity every morning is to find the one macho dude who believes his fragile male superego is entirely dependent on nearly running pedestrians/cows/dogs down, honking desperately as soon as the signal turns green and zipping past every car with a disdainful look. Then I overtake him irrespective of the risk I am putting myself in. It is a stupid game. I am aware. But you should see the disbelief on his face and his biceps sagging when he realises it is a young woman who has just gone past him. It is totally worth it.
Another time, I had taken my mother shopping and the only parking spot available was in a narrow lane five minutes away from the shop. When we came out of the shop, I saw this guy on a bike who slowed down close to us and said "Hi baby, wanna come?". I told my mom to get into the car. His face looked a little unsure when he saw my blank face and when i got into the car. He started leaving. I started revving the engine, pressing the horn and flashing my headlights so fervently that the poor guy disappeared before you could say "Hi baby".
I wanted to chase him but my mother was hyperventilating already and yelling at me over the ruckus I was orchestrating. "Architha, will you stop this nonsense? Oh my dear god! Why is there is so much anger in you? Where did I go wrong bringing you up? Why did we buy you a car? You have to manage a house someday. How are you going to manage with this impatience of yours?" So that a**h*** got lucky that day and I hoped that I'd discouraged him from "Hi Baby"-ing anybody for atleast a week.

Well, Can't say driving hasn't been an adventure.

I've been having a lot of "I wish I had a blog" moments lately. And where better to display my angst than in a blog. :)

I have started working and yet to come to terms with it. I am going to write what is probably the world's most difficult exam in a few months. Yeah, I still have lots of time for blogging. You got a problem with that?