Rashmi's Space

Simi was running late. School would let out in ten minutes and she was nowhere near it yet! She was drumming her fingers on the steering wheel praying for the signal to change soon when her phone rang. It was her Dad. That surprised her; as her parents knew most of her schedule and this wasn’t their usual time to call. But even before Simi could decide whether she should pick up the call, the signal changed. Later that day, after Simi had picked up her son, ran a couple of errands and taken a scheduled client call; she was just about to settle down on the couch with a cool glass of water when her phone pinged. On checking it, she was surprised to see five missed calls and several WhatsApp messages, all from her Dad! Worried and hoping that everything was alright with her parents, Simi called home. “Hi Dad, just saw your messages and your missed calls, everything alright?” she asked as soon as his phone was picked up. “Yes, yes, everything is alright. I just wanted ...

If May is the month for mothers, then June is the month for fathers! ‘Father’s Day’ is celebrated on the third Sunday of June to recognise the immense contribution made by fathers to our lives! And so, from the mushy, tearful, heartfelt wishes of Mother’s day last month, we now move on to more wishes...only not so mushy and not so tearful, maybe, but every bit as much heartfelt.  Of course, just like our mothers in India, our fathers too do not think much of this tradition. In fact, many aren’t even aware that there is a special day to celebrate fatherhood; nor are they aware as to when this special day is! They fail to see why there should be one particular day in one particular month when they should be 'recognised' as such. After all, haven’t they been fathers all their lives? So what is so special about this third Sunday in June?

"Wow babe! I got a Facebook request from your MOM!!!" I heard someone screech....and just like that twenty or so pairs of eyes around us went in search of the 'babe' in question whose mother had hopped on the bandwagon of the newest breed of parents and grandparents joining the social networking community. It is pretty cool to be a member of the same social networking site where your children, grandchildren and most of your relations are members too! Or is it?