The accidental Yogic Dad!
Call it the timing or the struggling brand value of this particular day. Somehow it misses the charm. The attitude of the day has never been able to shape up. Last year it coincided with the World Yoga Day. This year it has come 4 days prior to the World Yoga day. But the buzz seems missing. The attention is just not there. The day has begun as usual. The obedient son has woken up & is doing the crazy yoga poses in the balcony. The television is flooded with various modes of yoga postures (the yoga fever has gripped a week in advance). The daughter in law is busy chit-chatting with her mother-in-law galloping the luscious dollop of cheese along with the English breakfast tea.
‘I told you’, exalted the father to himself, walking profusely in the corridor. ‘We fathers are like the hapless modern day T 20 bowlers- taken for granted, always receiving the banter and never getting the stardom. Mothers are of course the stylish modern day batters, looking for opportunities to hit us out of the park ……. The brands have also conveniently given us a miss. The World has forgotten that today is FATHER’s DAY….yes. I had expected at least 50% of the euphoria compared to the Mother’s day. But alas, its zilch! Everyone is busy striking a picturesque pose on those fancy mats’. Disappointed the hapless father sipped his morning coffee.
And it’s true. ‘Father’s day’ has been completely overshadowed by the ‘World Yoga Day’. If Mother’s Day was any indication, fathers were expecting a field day today with overcast conditions (today being the Father’s Day- surety of having the upper hand), a green and grassy pitch (today being a Sunday- the attention would just multiply) and a shining new ball (the perfect anticipated gift- which would surely rattle the pride of the batters-aka the mothers). Today is the day of bowlers- full, swinging it around and castling the batsman (Mothers not getting the usual hyped attention). But the Rain Gods (the ever increasing charm of yoga exercises) had other ideas. The clouds burst and the umpires (Our Prime Minister’s ever so viral bandwagon) directed everyone to do fancy exercises (yoga asans). Amidst the rain of various poses of asans, the hapless bowler (father) was left to rue the missed opportunity. The day was lost.
Going by the outcome of Mother’s Day vs Father’s Day, mothers surely rule the roost. Winning almost every argument against the father with either a straight bat (logic) or with reverse laps and sweeps (emotions). Our poor father was hoping for one day-just one day- to settle scores but it was not to be.
Wait..The son finally remembers. He takes out a shiny red gift box and hugs his father with a cheeky whisper ‘Happy Father’s Day’. The Father regains himself, smiles, rises, and looks elegantly to the mother with the red cherry in his hand. He is ready to swing this one in. The moment has arrived or has it? He opens the wrap only to discover a purple mat with a collection of few DVDs. ‘Dad, this is a yoga mat and few DVDs of yoga exercises. These will keep you fit and healthy to live a long life.’ The mother winks and smiles back at the father. She shrieks and directs to the amazed father: ‘Now stop wandering aimlessly in the house and sit quietly- you restless fellow- go and have a bath’. (She has made this one into a full toss and deposited it straight into the cow corner)
The father has his head down. He has got a gift but…. He looks at the DVD which reads ‘Yoga quells your unrealistic desire’. The father spread the mat and lays down for a ‘urda mukka swasan’ and says to himself ‘Happy Father’s day’! In a matter of time, the father becomes a Yogi.
