Like father, Unlike son

well twas a sultry sunday mornin.The sun was beatin down with a vengeance as if to roast me alive in bed. "who the hell opened the windows"- i mumbled. then i heard hectic activity goin on in the kitchen with the cooker squealin and utensils clangin and the aroma of 'sambhar','rasam' and fryin 'appalam' waftin into the bedroom."today we're gonna have a feast"- i thought, then i jolted out of bed.

"who's doin the cookin"

Mom had left 3 days earlier. she had taken a much needed break from the pressures of household management, considerin the fact that she was employed (my mom's a teacher,physics to be precise) in my opinion she handled it all pretty well. although she lost it at times she managed to pull herself together just in time. she and my nemesis(iam referin to my renegade sister, who did not lack excuses to pick a fight wid me, although most of the folks at home believe its the other way round) had left for our native village and wud not be bak for a lng time.. so here i was wid the one person i dreaded bein alone with. er..... my dad.
although this might sound cliched, iam my 'mommas boy'. somehow i havent managed to share the same rapport and comfort levels wid my dad that i share wid mom, he always comes across as this over possesive,strict and overbearing personality and his temper is legendary in the household.so i am always on guard when i speak with him.

gettin bak to the sunday mornin.. i quickly brushed and went into the kitchen and was amazed to see my father cookin. everythin seemed perfect although i cud sense that he was a bit tired and jittery,but the food looked delicious. i quickly made myself a cup of steamin coffee and settled in the couch with the paper. i was totally immersed in the paper when i noticed my father standin in front of me. "wud u mind makin urself useful in the household activities" i cud sense the sarcasm and the irritation in his voice. i quickly dropped da paper and then was confused, apart frm readin the paper wat else cud i do."er... wat do u want me to do pa" i asked a li'l hesitantly. he glared and went off into the puja room. the devout person that he was, he never missed his pujas and was always ready to go off on pilgrimages, while i was left askin "wat does he see in the temples". iam not an athiest at heart, ofcourse i too pray daily(somethin inculcated in the family ) i was never into temples, pujas,yagnas et all..this was a constant bone of contention between me and my father. so i went into the kitchen filled up the bottles and kept them in the fridge and started maintainin a vigil on the delicacies cookin on the stove. but the lazy ass that i was, i quickly snuck bak into the couch.my father soon found me deeply immersed in the paper."this is hopeless, u're fit for nothin" and he stormed off into the kitchen while i was left confounded as to wat to do next. so i sat bak and started readin the paper again. after that we dint talk much all day and he went off to take some much needed rest while i did wat i did best, the 3 T's(Theeni, Thookum,TV.for all ye non tamil folks its 'Food','Sleep','TV').

but that night as i lay in bed tryin to get some sleep i cudnt help thinkin about the glarin differences between me and my dad. he was all that i wasnt.hardworkin,committed and organized. he wud never shun away frm work and was always independent be it cookin or washin his clothes. i remember once when i asked him where he learnt to cook, his voice took on a tone of nostalgia and he said " I never had to do any work at home, but once you are on your own you have to learn such things,learn to be independent". to this day i have tried being what my dad is but have always found myself faltering, be it the unwavering devotion to god or his work. i often asked myself the question "what will i grow up into?" and seein my father i sure know that he is somethin i cud never grow into, that there is somethin intrinsic in character that separates us both.

i must conclude by saying that i really had a feast that sunday, the food was fantastic but not in par with that of my mom's cookin(i still say mom's the best cook). neways it had been 3 days since i had some decent south indian food so i made the most of the oppurtunity. my dad seemd pretty relieved that i liked the food and i know despite the fact that he was mad at me that mornin all he wanted was for us to have an enjoyable meal and for that iam grateful to my dad.