A day before the wedding, the bride's father handed a letter to his future son-in-law.
Dear S,
I am so happy my daughter has
chosen you as her life partner. In you she has always found someone who gives
her space and time and shares the common love for Potternama and Comicathon. So,
as I hand her over to you tomorrow, let
me tell you that she is not perfect.
She is not perfect. For when it
comes to her work, she is almost fanatical and neither a lollipop here nor a
stick there will ever be of any use. If she has to do it, she will do it. Just
because there are friends over at home, that will never deter her from going to
attend a patient in need. She has given up all the joys of youth to follow the
path she has chosen and even though she loves the company of friends, going
shopping and movie hopping, her commitment to her work may not seem normal to
most. I will not blame you to find this strange but would want you to give her the
understanding and show respect for the work she is doing.
She is not perfect for she will
never hide her true feelings. She will never fake it. She will always be real
and that could at times be a point of disagreement. At times she will appear
disinterested and bored and then, at other times, she will seem over
enthusiastic and excited. The good thing is that what she likes and who she
loves, she will give anything and go to any extreme to make them matter and
make them happy. You will have to live with these extremities of a real person
by your side for years to come.
Another imperfection is that my darling
cannot cook and somehow all my wife’s efforts to inculcate in her the love for
cooking has not been very successful, to put it very mildly. She just does not
show any desire to step into the ‘sanctum sanctorum’ and do what most girls do.
Her culinary skills go to baking cakes, making rice and khichadi and eggs sunny
side up. For everything else she has the Apps like Swiggy, Zomato on her
fingertips and funnily she never orders dal
chawal or roti...it is always
exotic dishes like Hawaiian Salad and Boo Phat Pong Karee.
For twenty eight years my L’ll
Angel has been the centre of our constellation. From the time she opened her
eyes she brought in joy and more joy into our lives. She made us proud, not
just in academics, but much more. While the mother has preserved her mark
sheets, certificates, medals and trophies from nursery to post-doctoral days, I
have with me so many of her craft work and summer project workbooks which never
stop to amaze me with the breadth of her creativity. She will never tell anyone
of her achievements and gets upset when we start rattling as I am doing today.
She will make you and your family proud and I will be so happy to see the joy
on your faces.
M was always very
different from a lot of children for she would never throw any tantrums. We
have seen many kids screaming and ranting whenever parents said no to their
demands of a balloon or a toy. She has never asked us for anything. During her
school days, all she ever lost was one pencil box and nothing else. To add to
it, we never had to pay for her studies post her school. She will never tell
you to go out and buy her a dress or an expensive piece of jewellery. She did
not demand anything special for her wedding too. Her mom and I made all the
lists of things to buy and do for the shaadi
and she made no fuss about accepting the same.…except of course her desire to
wear a gown, which thankfully, is fulfilled today. So her ‘maintenance cost’
will be either self-funded or what you give her out of love, never will she demand
an ounce more.
She has a heart of gold where
there is an abundance of compassion. At times we are worried, for in the
profession she is in, heartbreaks of death and failures are not uncommon. She
gets close to patients, especially when it comes to children and, at times,
gets sad when things do not turn out the way they ought to. She, however, goes
back the very next moment to the next case and makes sure she gives everything
to make it right. She handles kids very well so if you also act like one, you
are in luck…you’re in the best possible hands.
M loves her friends and defends
them stoutly, for her friends can do no wrong. She craves to be with friends
and goes crazy in their company. So, your friends will always be welcome with
her around and if she were to get time off from work, she would love to go out
in the open singing Pagla Hawar Badol
Diney, Pagol Amar Mon Jegey Othey…Movies, music, magic, masti are a few of her favourite things.
My loving daughter will take good
care and show utmost respect for your parents and your extended family. That’s
the way we have brought her up and that is how she shall remain forever. She is
human after all. The good and the bad live together in all of us. So when she
falters, you can scold her and be tough and she will come around. Fight, you
must, for that is quite normal, but get back together fast. Please don’t make
her cry for long for that will make us sad. Like all parents we want the best
for our child and happiness at her new home is one such desire.
So Son, please take good care of
my Precious Imperfectly Perfect Girl.
Stay Blessed Son. Stay Happy Son.
Keep My Darling Baby Happy.
Love & Blessings,
S
Mumbai
15th February 2020
