35

Even though he was one of the younger members of the family, he was also the most level headed. She was the second oldest among the five siblings. He struggled a lot to get his education. She, not so much.

Love marriage was yet to enter the vocabulary. Probably back then, there were more pressing issues at hand - like making a living. He worked in a textile mill. While she worked for the state government. And their marriage was arranged.

Even though she was soft spoken and quiet, she always had an independent spirit. And that was the driving force behing him leaving the family home to find a new home for his family. While a couple of his brothers were hot in the pursuit of wealth, he chose the simple pleasures of an average job and family.

Both of them worked hard to make the ends meet. And at times pulled up short. Sending three kids to good schools comes with a price tag. But her reassuring calm in the face of crisis and his complete trust in her abilities to manage the family, saw them through.

And these are my parents. Last tuesday was their 35th wedding anniversary.

The more I have seen of this world, the more I have realized how lucky I am.

My mom never really watched english movies. But she made sure that we developed a taste for good movies. Watching "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory" are part of my childhood memories only because of my Mom. She never read much english literature. But she consciously cultivated a love for good books in us. Getting us abridged versions of "Around the world in 80 days", "Robinson Crusoe" were just her marvellous ways of doing that.

My dad taught me never to back off from a challenge. Whenever there was something that needed fixing around the household he would step in. He may not know Shakespeare but he was a genius at finding solutions to everyday problems. And I was always his little helper. More often a reluctant meddler than helper. Thanks to him, even today I am not shy about getting my hands dirty.

While we were by no means poor, it wasn't smooth sailing either. Most of the time we had 'just enough'. But my parents never hid anything from us. They treated us like adults and let us have our say. They encouraged us to be independent and responsible for ourselves. Never have we been scolded for bad grades. They used to just say "We don't have lot of money we can leave behind. All we can do is give you a good education. It is upto you to decide what you make of your life.". And that has stayed with me always.

Maybe we don't say this enough, but we love you. Wishing you a happy 35th !

Your little boy

~ B