Father's Day: Say it your own way

Shed your cynicism and grab the opportunity to demonstrate your love and affection to your father on Father’s Day

June 17, 2016 02:50 pm | Updated October 18, 2016 12:37 pm IST - HYDERABAD

Illustration by Satheesh Vellinezhi

Illustration by Satheesh Vellinezhi

HYDERABAD: A few months back, Madhurima, a student counsellor took her mother Vijeta to a spa session. The occasion was Mother’s Day and the mother-daughter duo spent the remaining day with another outing. The mother was very happy but also wished such options and opportunities were available during her growing up years, so that she could have treated her parents the same way. Cynics tend to trash the hype around these special days and dismiss the commercialisation attached to them. But why not look at it with a different perspective and enjoy the day? Why can’t we be glad at the sea of opportunities available to express and share our feelings. This Father’s Day (June 19), gives yet another opportunity to change the mindset and celebrate the special bond with a Father.

Special day Prasanna Elukurthy, a homemaker affirms she looks forward to Father’s Day. “One should be able to think of something fun and special and why bother about remarks that advertisers cash in on sentiments. The love and respect will always be there but we don’t express it everyday. On Father’s Day, we can share our feelings,” she states. Last year, her brother took his father on a river rafting ride on the special day. “His eyes were radiant with happiness. The gift can be anything and the intention is more important than the actual gift,” she smiles. She observes how celebrations which involve elders bring joy especially among the little ones. “It is nice to celebrate Father’s Day or a Mother’s Day and make our parents feel important and special. Our actions go a long way in making our children understand about caring and bonding. When we give a gift to our parents, they understand the joy in giving. When we feel happy that our parents are happy, they learn the richness of our culture.”

Agrees Padma Padmanabhan, a special educator, “There is a lot of scope now; avenues for self-expression are many which were not available when we were children. Any celebration which strengthens emotional bonding adds a lot of value to one’s life,” she explains. Krishna Srinivasulu Vishwanatham, a software professional calls for an experience-driven celebration. “My father loves shopping. When we were young, there were no shopping malls. This year, he is with me and I am eagerly waiting to take him to a shopping mall and let him experience the fun of shopping in a big mall.”

While one feels confused about the choice of gifts to buy, the onus is to first understand the parent. “Instead of mass-produced greeting cards or a generic gift, how about talking and listening to him and trying to understand what a father feels. In today’s busy world, we live in different cities and hardly have time to spend time with family. My father was very adventurous when he was a kid. I am planning to listen to all his childhood adventures on Father’s Day,” shares Surprakash Rao, an employee of a telecom company and concludes. “Giving gifts will definitely make parents happy but first, talk to them. The more children talk and listen to their parents, the happier they will be .”

Here’s to all the fathers!

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