I clearly and distinctly remember this day the 20th of July as much as I remember my son's or wife's or mom's birthday. It had a great significance...in my life - or shall I say in giving me life.
It was this day way back in 1977, that my dad joined the profession he wanted to and it was something he believed would change his life forever. Change it did and how?
He joined the Reserve Bank of India at its Hyderabad office and life turned for him. Being a mathematician by education, he always wanted to join either the academic institutions or RBI, in those days banking was considered a great career choice especially if it was the federal / central bank of India.
As always in the 70s arranged marriage was the norm and my dad and mom's arriage was arranged by some common relatives. I was informed by my maternal grandmom that one of the the main reasons for the alliance to be finalised was my dad's job! So you see, I do owe a bit of my existence to the Reserve Bank of India - haha.
I believe that the first time I knew about the importance of this date was in 1987 - I was in my third grade and my dad had taken us out for a fantastic dinner at Paradise. He told me with great pride that it was in this day way back in 1977 that he first joined the bank and we were celebrating his first decade in RBI. I thought it was very cool. But what I thought was cooler was the fact that my dad always ensured he gave something away for the needy on that day. It struck a chord with me too and to this day I always try and do something good on this day in his memory.
The work ethic that my dad had was phenomenal...I never saw him take an off just to stay back and relax in the house. He always used to ensure he reached office before time, every work day. I donot remember a single instance where we were late for anything. Punctuality was a quality he instilled in me just by being himself. Of course my mom contributed to his sense of time as she herself was very time conscious too. "Samayo rakshati rakshitaha" meaning; come what may, if we respect time, then time will be kind to us. I follow this principle to this day and it helps me so much in trying to lead a stress-free and happy life.
I never saw him take a leave for himself, he always put family before self. He ensured that his leaves always are used either during my school holidays or when my mom needed his help during family weddings or before important festival days. This was another message which I understood very well - family always comes first. Work is important but you should always remember that its the family's happiness that you work so hard for.
There were also several instances of him being in a position of authority by virtue of his designation and the department he used to work for, but not once had I seen him take the slightest of help from anyone because of his official capacity. He kept himself clean and ensured that living a simple life is the best way to ensure happiness for a long term. Another of his qualities which motivates me to be incorruptible as well...in spite of so many temptations (sic) in the present day world.
Some of the traits that most successful heads of family have is their dedication to work. And the way to measure success according to me is to see how happy the family is? If you have earned millions but the family is not happy about it at all, then that may not be the ideal way of moving forward in life. But at the same time if you have successfully ensured that the entire family is happy with the the way things have materialised as a result of one's work showing how much the work has contributed to this happiness, then Bingo! You have made it!
A small blog will never be enough for me to write about how my father has influenced my day to day activities, but surely it may serve as a snippet.
Miss you dad on this wonderful day! I promise to try and be happy as often as I can!
A Royal Salute to your integrity and work ethic! Love you and I am sure you are spreading joy wherever you are!
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