The shoulder of a father - a few thoughts

The shoulder of a father - a few thoughts

Aniruddha Sarkar

17 October 2022, 00-10 AM

Today, as I moved out of home in the morning for my daily errands, I saw a father carrying his little son on his shoulder.

The kid was sitting comfortably with his both legs hanging in front of the father's breast. And the boy was tightly holding his father's forehead by locking his hands from both sides.

The father was walking steadily and the kid's mother was following.

This sight reminded me of an incident some six decades back.

I was a small kid of barely four to five years of age.

One weekend, my father cut a banana tree trunk to form two floats. Then he joined both the floats using strong ropes with a gap in between.

He then carried me on his shoulder as I described above.

We reached a nearby water body or pond, notorious for its deep waters. Only those who could swim well would use that tank.

We both got into the shallow water near the Ghat (meaning temporary stairs for bathing on the embankment).

First, my father floated me in the water of the pond supporting me with his arms below my belly.

Then he asked me to swim using both hands and legs. I practiced for some time as he suggested.

Next, Father again put me in water and asked me to swim using both my hands and legs while I was supported by the pair of banana trees floating on both sides under my arms.

I again practiced for a few minutes. This time father was not physically supporting but was standing guard.

Using the floats, I was moving a bit far as I could swim now.

This phase was also over.

Next, he asked me to swim again, unsupported.

By God's grace, I could swim some distance without any help!

We returned home.

A few more practice sessions went like this for the next few days.

Shortly, I could swim on my own.

My father thus shouldered one responsibility: he taught me how to swim.

***** ***** ***** *****

As I grew up and joined a secondary school as a teenager, my father asked me to accompany him to the local market every alternate day.

I found out to my surprise that he would first survey the entire vegetable and fish market in the first pass. Then he would decide what he would purchase fresh from which vendor at what price.

Next, in the second pass, he would purchase the items and would ask me to compute the price from the rate and quantity.

That was my first practical use of mental arithmetics.

I would multiply the quantity, say, in a few kgs and a few grams with the rate in rupees and paisa.

That mental math was initially tough for me. Over time, I could grasp that.

However, I was surprised that a few vendor boys of my age were very quick to compute the price accurately. And, in those days, we didn't have calculators!

Thus father pushed me into the practical world of economic activities.

Very soon, for small purchases from the market, I handled those activities reasonably well.

***** ***** ***** *****

Then, as I moved out of home for admission to an engineering college after qualifying in the State JEE, both my father and uncle went along with me to the University campus.

That day there was a deluge of rain. Trains were delayed. We got into a local train at the Sealdah division of Eastern Railways.

At the Sealdah station, we again boarded another South section train to reach Jadavpur University.

But, due to torrential rains, all the trains were stopped at Ballygangue station. The tracks ahead were submerged because of waterlogging.

We took a taxi to reach the university campus. Thus I was introduced to the difficulties involved in regular commuting by local trains.

Luckily, I passed the medical tests and was admitted the same day.

As a railwayman, my father arranged a railway quarterly ticket at a discount with some endorsement from the university.

I thus learned the process. For the subsequent renewals, I could handle.

****** ***** *****. *****

When I joined the university, my father arranged a local guardian, who was one of our family acquaintances, and a senior executive in the administration of the university.

This senior gentleman was of great help in troubleshooting many issues during my stay on campus for the next five years.

***** ***** ***** *****

I received a job offer from a PSU Steel Plant after my graduation. Father accompanied me to Steel City. After I cleared medical tests and joined, he left for home, some three hundred km away.

From that day onward, I had to do everything on my own.

Father was around to assist me in learning how to survive on my own.

Then, one day he put me on the ground from his shoulder, in a Steel City, and left for home.

And, I felt confident that I would be able to arrange everything for my new setup.

Today, I miss my father’s shoulder.

I realize, he provided us, all siblings, a security and safety net that was invisible to us.

When he left us for his heavenly abode, I was exposed to the world around me without his guidance and prudence.

Over the years, I could see from proximity how fathers were struggling to secure their families from the uncertainties of life.

I could feel their sacrifices.

I could feel their tightrope walk to make both ends meet.

I could feel their frustrations, their exhaustion, and their struggles for a long time to establish their wards.

Their hopes and their dreams around the next generations were always the driving force.

I hail this spirit of fatherhood.

O my father, today, I badly miss your shoulders.

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