My dad is balding and his hair is also graying. So when he asks us to dye his hair, it’s quite difficult not to paint his scalp. My dad is putting on weight and he is starting to show his age….
My dad was too, once young and spry. He had a good government job, two kids and a loving wife. He drank on occasion; he was bad-tempered (my brother and I were quite scared of him). He rarely went to church, because he said he did not want to listen to sermons given by people he knew only too well. People who will weep at the pulpit and yet steal and lie for their gain. Whatever his faults, he was honest as the day was long. He never took a bribe, a ‘thank you’ or a rupee that was not his.
Something happened. We were still young, and he became born-again. He lost his short temper, quit drinking and started going to church more. He still did not like the idea of corrupt people preaching, but I guess he just became more tolerant.
One day, he said he was quitting his job and joining a political party. He wanted to do ‘something’ for his homeland. I think my mother cried. But he was adamant. And so it was, he quit his job and joined politics. We were still so young, my brother and I, we played with Barbie and He-man and just lived within our filtered world.
When dad got elected, everything was nice. We had what we needed and he was doing his best. Some did say he was too unambitious. People advised him to get contracts, pull strings for this or that. Dad was just not interested.
The years passed and dad did lose his next election. Despite all the work he had done, despite the fact that he must be one of the few honest men, he was basically a bad politician. He did not know how to please the crowd.
Well, now I guess we must be just as rich or poor as we were then. But people, even my friends, sometimes think otherwise. They could not understand, for example why we hung on to our old car for so long. They couldn’t believe we didn’t have money just lying around to buy a new one. The car had been with us for more than a decade. If there were better road rules it probably would not have been allowed on the roads. And every time that car broke down, and my dad came home with another story about how a traffic policeman or a passerby helped him push the car along the main roads, I would feel mortified. That car became a symbol of everything we lacked. I hated that car. And in these weak moments I would think, we could have had everything too. My dad could have stayed on at his job or while in a position of power, taken a few cuts here and there. It was almost expected, there are so many who do it so blatantly.
But I think I would have loved him less. He would love himself less. While people would give him pseudo-respect, I would quietly die a little bit in shame. But he knew what was right, what was of worth. He taught me about honesty, He taught me about God, about speaking up against wrong and he taught me, without ever saying much, how to believe and how to worship. I don’t think I will ever live up to him.
I am proud of my dad. I am glad to be his daughter. I am so proud to have a father I can be proud of.
There are so many dads like mine, dads in government jobs, teacher dads, pastor dads, drivers, shopkeepers, doctors, pensioners. The quiet man who goes about doing his daily work, the inarticulate man who tries and sometimes manages to ease our pains. Let us be proud of our dads today. He provided, yet did not steal to provide. What more could we want in a dad?
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Nia, Like tur dik tak hi Like a ngai a...
October 14th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
Lovely post. And how lucky you are that you still have a dad to write about. Mine died when I was 11.
October 14th, 2006 at 2:54 pm
I have seen mine only once.
October 14th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
Great post. Give my respect to your father. If our Mizoram is filled with politicians such as your father, I am sure Mizoram would’ve been a much better place. This goes for the citizens as well.
October 14th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
thats one great blog.beautifully written…it gave me a lump in my throat…..for reasons of my own..:) thats how i want my kids to remember me ….
October 14th, 2006 at 3:40 pm
Thanks alot people, this post was so personal I wondered if I shud put it here. Like life10 said, if we all live only trying to be good examples to our kids, I think Mizoram would not be a bad place to live in. Thanks again for the kind comments
October 14th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
Very good post shippens. touching and warm… your post made me reflect upon my life a lot too….
October 14th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
Sandman wrote:
HUH??!!!???
October 14th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
Gimme a hug comrade! LOL
October 14th, 2006 at 8:36 pm
good write …….but even with DAD sometimes shit happens……lolzzzzzz
October 14th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
HEH??!!!???
October 14th, 2006 at 11:47 pm
Arree,myself, shit doesn’t happen for you? Poor boy, I hear cremaffin/loose/milk of magnesia are all good stuff for loosening those up. Hope it happens for you soon!
October 15th, 2006 at 9:22 am
girl wrote:
hehe girl i think you use this treatment regularly it seems…you speak from your experience i do hope it is effective since you prescribe with so much confidence hahahhaha………
October 15th, 2006 at 11:53 am
nice article shithappens…your a good daughter too, a daughter for your father….:)
October 15th, 2006 at 12:12 pm
Maybe,maybe not. Since you were sounding a little constipated was only trying to help. You are already sounding much better
October 15th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Mi in urhsun taka an pa te chanchin ngaihnawm taka an ziah lai leh midang pawhin an lawmpui em em laia hetia nangni 2 in uan nan leh inchhaih nan helai hmun in lo hmang hi zak deuh chem chem teh u. Uanna hmun leh hun hre ve em em ula mawle.
October 16th, 2006 at 7:30 pm
good articul.
im going to be like ure dad when i grow up =)
October 16th, 2006 at 8:03 pm
Shithappens,Cheers to ur dad n 2 u coz u got an amazing dad that u cud still talk about.
J..im sorry to hear that u lost ur dad when ur just 11 but u r still lucky than me coz my dad passed away before i was born,i was just 4 months old still in my mom’s womb
October 25th, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Well written Shithappens : )
How did i miss this? I guess this was during that short hiatus I took from the net. And ben, thanks for putting this on the front page. : )
October 26th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
gingerbluff…
*am so sorry*…
October 26th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
shithappens, *kudos* to ur dad….
ur a lucky lucky gurl….
October 26th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Thanks again ppl. Dads..the lesser parent
Guess everybody needs a dad in their lives. Sorry about ur dads, J, Ben and gingerbluff. I think I took having one pretty much for granted. And thanks for the ‘front page’ coverage 
October 27th, 2006 at 1:29 am
anytime !
October 27th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Rozawna wrote:
Spoiler!