AD SENSE

Father and Son - Story

LOVE OF A SON...

An old man, staying in a small south Indian town came to visit his son in Mumbai recently. The son in his early thirties is a successful businessman living with his wife and son. The father, having spent most of his life at his birthplace, hardly understands Hindi English, Marathi. But he doesn’t care. ‘I have come here to spend a few days with my son and his family. I don’t have... to go out and socialize with the city people,’ he said.
But the son is very excited about his father’s rare visit to Bombay. He wants to make the best of it. He and his wife want to show him around the city. And yes, the son enjoys those evening hours too, when he and his father go out and sit in a good bar, sipping their favourite drink.
Last week he told his father ‘Let’s go to a five star hotel’s bar tonight’. It was a beautiful evening. Talking about everything under the sun they had a few drinks. As usual they were offered some salad, peanuts, wafers etc. as accompaniments with their drinks. The old man being almost toothless was not much interested in eating. But that day when they got up to leave, he simply took a handful of chana (roasted grams) and stuffed it in the fold of his dhoti. He might have thought > about munching on them, sitting in the car. Unfortunately while walking in the lobby, he missed a step and stumbled. Down he went, scattering the channa on the plush carpet.
No problem. Now try to visualize that scenario. Someone else in his son’s place would have been mortified, embarrassed to death. He might have cursed not his father but his own self for causing this awkward situation. Never again will I take my old man to such hotels’, he would have vowed.
No sir, not this son. Gently, with a smile, he helped his father get back on his feet. Instead of feeling irritated or angry, he was amused. He found the whole incident very funny. Laughing, they both went home and on the way they decided to return to the same place the following Sunday. The old man liked the place and liked the chana too.
Old Man & his SonA few days ago, at a friend’s place they both described this event and made everybody laugh.
Weren’t you embarrassed? Somebody asked the son. ‘Oh, come on now’ replied the son. ‘He is my father. He talks in his native language, prefers to wear a dhoti even to a posh city hotel, takes channa from the bar to eat later, does whatever he feels like…. So what?
Why should I feel embarrassed with his nature and habits? Nobody has a right to stop him from doing whatever he feels comfortable with, as long as it is not harmful to others.’
The son doesn’t care what the staff in the hotel thought about that incident. He says ‘they should be concerned only with their bills and tips. I am concerned about my father’s happiness.’ The wife too totally agrees with the husband on this issue. She feels there are enough other qualities in her father- in- law to feel proud of. Accept them .
The above incident is not mentioned just to show the love and devotion of a son for his father.
More than love it is a matter of understanding and a healthy respect for the other person’s lifestyle.