By Rajesh Radhakrishnan
Co-Founder and Director, Sales & Marketing, Vritti Solutions
I was in my thirties then. As I waited at a hospital in Mumbai, a far-off radio played the Simon & Garfunkel masterpiece ‘The Sound of Silence’. The lyrics of the song made me forget all the troubles in the world and brought unknown joy to my heart.
I was on the verge of a trance as the song played and the words filled the air… ‘Because a vision softly creeping/ Left its seeds while I was sleeping/ And the vision that was planted in my brain/ Still remains/ Within the sound of silence…’
Little did I know that the lyrics filling the airwaves were signalling the dawn of a new life at that very moment... and that I had just become a father. Soon, my angel-like child, all wrapped up in white, was presented to me. It was as if heaven had come down to earth. He held my finger, blinking his eyes. It was perhaps the most defining moment of my life.
Over the moon
I happily took to parenting, without ever being trained for it. Learning was only through trial and error, the mistakes numerous and sleepless nights frequent. There were no fixed timings for this job, and there was no salary, but immense fulfilment. Experience was gained through pain, pleasure, confusion, satisfaction and desperation. My beliefs changed. I learnt to appreciate my own parents. Later, during more phases of learning – through potty-training, travelling on vacations with diapers, baby food, pre-school and school - it dawned upon me that all along, I had been seeking this joy, never knowing that it really existed.
Despite having the world’s weight to carry on my shoulders, my child taught me to keep body and soul together. I bought him a mini play gym at home, not wanting to expose him to violent games played by other kids, which only fuel aggression, and deprive them of the time meant for playing.
New lease of life
My son has given us a new lease of life. On weekends, my wife and I play with him and his friends, and re-live our childhood and how it feels to be on Cloud Nine again. In trying to bring my son’s attention to games like chain (sakli), badminton, hide-and-seek and chor-police that he can play with his friends, we end up playing the games, too! My muscles protest, but I am happy to play. He and his friends bring us immense joy that just springs unbidden from the heart. I hope that when I enroll him for an activity class of his choice such as swimming or skating, it will be for the fun of it and not because I want him to be the fastest skater or a state-level swimmer.
Like all parents, I too dream of giving my child a life full of joy, health and fun and create a chest of happy memories for him, which will be his anchor during stressful times.
Even as I pen this article, my son reaches for me, wanting to be in my arms. Meanwhile, the radio plays Michael Buble… “It’s a new dawn/ It’s a new day/ It’s a new life for me…”
Feedback: rajesh.radhakrishnan@vritti.co.in
