Dad…

“Deep in the cavern of the infant’s breast,
The father’s nature lurks, and lives anew.”
―Horatius.

Scene 1:
‘Baba’, I was in standard 10th, when I first read his poem “Gulabi chudiyan” The poem speaks about a private bus driver and his odd attachment to the small pink bangles, hanging in front of him on the gear. The poem is of a blank verse construct, which itself follows an elegant narrative, instead of dragging the rhyming train, it ripples the prose into mindful instance. The second line establishes the plot that-He is a father of a small girl to whom those bangles belongs, the bangles being the totem of filial love.
What remain afresh in the memory even after all these years were the contrast of the rugged background and the tender love of a father; it was as if tasting a sweetest fruit in the sweltering heat…An Overwhelming Contentment!!!

गुलाबी चूड़ियाँ
–नागार्जुन
प्राइवेट बस का ड्राइवर है तो क्या हुआ,
सात साल की बच्ची का पिता तो है!
सामने गियर से उपर
हुक से लटका रक्खी हैं
काँच की चार चूड़ियाँ गुलाबी
बस की रफ़्तार के मुताबिक
हिलती रहती हैं…
झुककर मैंने पूछ लिया
खा गया मानो झटका
अधेड़ उम्र का मुच्छड़ रोबीला चेहरा
आहिस्ते से बोला: हाँ साब
लाख कहता हूँ नहीं मानती मुनिया
टाँगे हुए है कई दिनों से
अपनी अमानत
यहाँ अब्बा की नज़रों के सामने
मैं भी सोचता हूँ
क्या बिगाड़ती हैं चूड़ियाँ
किस ज़ुर्म पे हटा दूँ इनको यहाँ से?
और ड्राइवर ने एक नज़र मुझे देखा
और मैंने एक नज़र उसे देखा।
छलक रहा था दूधिया वात्सल्य बड़ी–बड़ी आँखों में
तरलता हावी थी सीधे–साधे प्रश्न पर
और अब वे निगाहें फिर से हो गईं सड़क की ओर
और मैंने झुककर कहा –
हाँ भाई, मैं भी पिता हूँ
वो तो बस यूँ ही पूछ लिया आपसे
वर्ना किसे नहीं भाएँगी?
नन्हीं कलाइयों की गुलाबी चूड़ियाँ!

The poet none other than Nagarjun(fondly called Baba, in Hindi literature, What an apt name for poet on this eve, of father’s day).

Scene 2:

Anyone who was growing up in 90s do remember this exceptionally well crafted story on DD-‘UDAAN’, about a cop in making and the officer’s tryst with “Life”, ”Law”, and “the Governance”, and the dilemma of being a part of bureaucracy, it also focused on the molding of the officer’s moral, ethical, and upright character in process…Two unique dimensions brought forth by this serial were-

A woman’s struggle against all odds to reach the height of prestigious career path(i.e. to be part of the system, and serving it).
A support of an upright and morally sound father in her quest.

Both of these aspects were new at the time, but it inspired many to reach for unreachable goals in life…My fond and highly inspiring moment of this serial was the dialogue that takes place between the protagonist and her father, who on most occasion pointed her to right direction in life without being preachy and didactic, but letting his ward to decide which path to thread, based on probity and within the constitutional rules,(In today’s life, how many Dads teach their kids, to follow rules, even when no one is watching).

Scene 3:

“God help those who help themselves”, and I am quite sure there are some who have twisted the idiom for their own self-serving purposes and unscrupulous benefits. An adult woman requires no other person’s consent to terminate or keep her child.Despite the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act 1994 and amended in 2003 to Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act (PCPNDT Act) to improve the regulation of the technology and methods used in sex selection and also put a ban on the sex selective abortions, a high percentage of patriarchy misuses the norms by staying within the rule of law to end a life, a father who rationalize and choose a path from a womb to the silent tomb for his unborn child.