Had he been alive, dad would have been a hundred years today!

‘Twas a good-looking man he be, and an aunt on my mother’s side, whispered to me once, that when dad as a bachelor walked down the road of the town they grew up in, she and her sisters would hide behind the curtains to have a look at him.

Those looks never made him proud, nor did his reasonably well-off upbringing make him snooty. It was much later while googling the tea plantations in Ceylon I found tales he’d told me about his grandfather and father were true; that they were the first Indians to own huge tea plantations in Sri Lanka. But other than using a fork and spoon during every meal, while I preferred my hands, dad never showed off his upbringing.

He invested not money, which anyway he didn’t have much of, but his life in bringing up his two sons. Knowing I loved books, he guided my reading and later in teaching me business principles that were deeply impactful.

Realising I was quite a sickly kid, he divided his time with sports for my brother, while encouraging me to explore my writing gift. He was the sounding box for all my initial plays and stories, and after reading one of them, would tap said script on his leg and say ‘Good!’ which meant there was much scope for improvement.

Irritated, I would try defending the piece. He would listen patiently, nod, then say, “You can’t explain all this to a reader. Your work has to say it all!”

Chastened I would work at the play or article and wind up writing something much better.

Dad was a great listener, with a sense of wonder, which meant he found anything someone said as something to add to his immense knowledge.

He loved my mother dearly, and she him, and finally passed away in her arms.

Today, as I remember him, and my fondness as a kid, to cuddle up next to him, and the immense security he gave me, I realise that through his life, he helped me understand what fatherhood meant, not just with love I was able to give to my children, but my understanding of what God the Father’s love is.

Through his strength I realise God the Father’s absolute omnipotent power, and through my dad’s failures I realise how my divine Father cannot fail me. Having a dad who loved me, helps me to understand the magnitude of heavenly love.

Yes dad, as we celebrate your hundred years, we pray that many of us fathers below understand the responsibility we bear to help our kids comprehend God’s unconditional love, through the small window you allow us to open and reveal.

May we as earthly fathers open that same window to our children, as you did for me dad..!

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