chapter 11

Father is my Role Model"A Special story for Father's Day"Part 1:On the vibrant third Sunday of June, the grand hall buzzed with excitement, adorned with decorations celebrating Father's Day. Youths and middle-aged individuals alike graced the stage, each with a unique tale to share about the profound impact of their fathers had on their lives.Among them sat Mr. Rakesh, a man of forty  and  a curious anchor approached him eager to unravel his story. "How was your father a role model for you, Mr. Rakesh? Share with us the essence of his influence on your life" the anchor inquired.Mr. Rakesh replied, " Oh! what do you ask sir, I learnt everything from my father...  My father was the main reason why I reached to this situation".Intrigued, the sponsor urged him to elaborate, recognizing the potential wisdom his words held for the audience.With the mike in hand, Mr. Rakesh embarked on a journey through memory lane, painting a vivid picture of his past. "When I was a young boy, I soared academically, clinching the title of my school's top performer. My father, a prominent landlord and esteemed contractor, provided abundantly for our family. Yet, amidst his success, a shadow loomed. My father had a drinking habit from early on. After I joined college, my father's addiction to drinking habit got worsened. Seeing him and in the company of friends, I also got into the habit of drinking. My attention on education went down. I couldn't get good marks in class 12th. Because of that, I couldn't get a free seat in medical. My father didn't agree to get the seat under the management quota for the medical, because he didn't have that much of money. So my dream of becoming a doctor was shattered”He recounted how his dreams of pursuing a career in medicine were thwarted by the spectre of his father's addiction to alcohol. "I strayed from my path, succumbing to the allure of youthful indiscretions" he confessed, his voice tinged with regret.“But, it was your fault that you didn't study properly and got into bad habits. If you had scored well in PUC, wouldn't you have become a doctor based on your merit?" asked the sponsor."Because of my father addicted to alcohol, as I was immature at that time, could not understand that which was good and bad. If my father had hit me and given me proper advice, would I have studied well and achieved something in my life without hanging out with bad friends? Then he was not in such a situation. There were losses in business and my father's financial situation was deteriorating. I was very sad that my desire to become a doctor was not fulfilled. In the same sadness, my life was ruined by addiction to alcohol. Wasn’t my father the reason for all these? If he had been right, my life would not have been ruined?" As Mr. Rakesh concluded his narrative, tears glistened in his eyes, mirroring the emotions that stirred within the audience. They became misty and all felt sorry for the father of that  young man.Part 2:Then one more young man of about 35 years came to the stage from the middle of the audience and asked the sponsor, "Would you give me a chance to talk about my father, sir?".  He implored, his eyes brimming with earnestness.The sponsor hesitated, citing the protocol of pre-registration, but relented upon hearing the urgency of the young man's tale and asked “only those who have registered earlier are allowed. Why didn’t you register earlier?  Then he replied, "Yes sir, I wanted to come and register yesterday. I am serving as a surgeon in a famous hospital situated nearby. But, yesterday I had to deal with five urgent operation cases in the hospital. So I could not come and register yesterday." Finally a chance was given to share his experience.Introducing himself as Dr. Arjun, the man exuded a quiet confidence, a testament to the lessons learned from his father's legacy."May I share my story about my father, sir?" he implored, his eyes brimming with earnestness.The sponsor hesitated, citing the protocol of preregistration, but relented upon hearing the urgency of the young man's tale.Introducing himself as Dr. Arjun, the man exuded a quiet confidence, a testament to the lessons learned from his father's legacy.He started answering the questions asked by the sponsors. "I have completed my MBBS degree in a renowed medical college after scoring good marks in  12th Standard and CET.  After completing my Post Graduate degree in orthopaedics, I am working as surgeon in a famous hospital. This is because of my father who gave me the opportunity to serve patients. I feel that I have learned many lessons in my life from him.""Yes? Very happy. Can you tell me in detail what lessons you learned from your father?" asked one of the sponsors.Then he started  "When I was studying in a primary school, my father owned several acres of agricultural land. He also had a lot of income from agriculture and was once a rich landlord because of doing some contract businesses. However, due to the many residential layouts that came up in the neighbouring land, our agricultural land also valued a few crores of rupees. My father sold his agricultural land at a good price to a developer for developing a residential layout there. When got with crores of rupees, my father did not know what to do with that much of money.  Some people generally used to say that, even if a man gets more money than he needs, there is a risk of losing his mind. For my father the situation also became the same" he said and stood in silence for a while without speaking again.Then the sponsor said "continue what happened later"."When he got a lot of money in his hand, he stopped the business he was doing and did not even involving himself in any agricultural activities.  He was lazy then and started to spend the money he had. Since he had nothing to do, he used to hang out here and there with his friends. He started moving around Bangalore city every now and then. Earlier, he did not know anything about Club and Bars etc. But, later he started going there due to the company of his bad friends. There he learnt to play cards, got into the habit of drinking. Then he went one step further and started going to the race course. There he lost a lot of money betting on horse race and gambling. Then he fell into the habit of drinking  alcohol because of the tension of losing money. He ran out of money and fell into the debt rap" and he stopped for a while."What happened? Continue" asked the sponsor, Dr. Rakesh asked for a glass of water.After drinking some water, he calmed down and continued, "When I finished my high school and joined college, the financial condition of our family was very bad. Like my father, my elder brother also got addicted to alcohol and was unemployed because he could not finish his education. My mother was very upset to see the situation of both my father and elder brother. I was observing that she was always in tears.  She was always begging me with folded hands that “Arjun, please  don't step in their path”.  So, at that time, whatever may be the situation, I was determined, I was determined not to become like my elder brother. I studied well and got good marks and got a medical seat. When I was studying in PUC, I knew that we didn't have enough money to pay any donations for getting a medical seat. So I studied hard and got a government seat and became a doctor. Later I got a free seat for Post Graduation in Surgery and now I am serving as a Surgeon in a reputed Hospital. When I saw both my father and elder brother, I made a firm decision that I should never addict to drinking and gambling like them. I learnt the best lesson in my life from both of them. When bad habits are not under our control, the life of our father and brother were best example for me to know how they push our life to fall".  When he finished his speech, the audience stood up and clapped their hands.Finally, when the sponsor asked, "What is your father doing now?", he replied with sorrow mindedness  "He died in the second wave of Corona around  three years back"When the sponsor asked, "What is your brother doing now?" He replied, "The same person named Mr. Rakesh,  who came to this stage before me and told that, his father was the main reason for coming to that stage in his life, is my own elder brother".  The whole hall was silent once. Then everyone joined together and clapped loudly.Isn't it?  It is up to us whether we accept only bad from others or only accept good things without bad one, isn't it? CA  V. K. S. Shetty, Bangalore..