Fathers day

For me it’s father’s day everyday.

From a very early age I had a passion for words. I was a constant seeker of knowledge and think always will be to the end of my days.

Before I could articulate words, I would create images, which manifested in a constant stream of drawings and paintings, being my favourite pastime as a child. During the evenings, I would not sleep without listening to my father tell me an old folk tale in Urdu, of distant lands and of places I had never heard of or ever seen.

Visual arts were encouraged in our household, with my father being a keen photographer, making me his apprentice.  He loved to take me on his adventures of discovery, travelling up and down the country to capture pictures and life; to fill every curious sense with exhilarating beauty.

I remember once, my father taking me on a trip to London to visit the museums, asking me to write a story of the day on our return. I wrote for days. Pages and pages, trying to capture each and every thing felt, seen, smelt and experienced; a day now engraved in my memory like it was yesterday.

From there on, writing became an outlet for me, especially poetry. It helped me through my teenage years and as I grew older, words I found hard to say in person, I would often write. It was always an emotional release; a pleasurable pastime. It wasn't till later in life after having my children I realized how my writing could also be used to convey messages, be shared with others in the hope that they too may take something away from them or provide a source of inspiration.

My most cherished memories of time spent with my father are of evenings listening to his stories of old. Tucked snugly in his bed, under the lamp that spread its warm pink hue, I would listen with eagerly attentive ears. Head propped on pillows, eyes wide with gasps of excitement and whimpers of fear, I never tired, always asking “just one more.”

I feel so blessed to be the daughter of a father who has given me the greatest wealth; morals, manners and appreciation for the world and its’ blessings.  I feel honoured to be that granddaughter of a great wise man I wish I had met, an artist; true and sincere. My father is the centre of my world and has made me who I am today but also I feel exceptionally blessed to have the best uncles who have served as inspiring father figures in my life too.

Being a parent myself I know the struggles endured in raising children, and recognise that there are parents that are doing it singlehandedly; under difficult circumstances, through hardships, poverty, war or trauma.

Being a parent is the most challenging and most rewarding job in the world. I hope that I too, like my father and his father before him, am able to leave a lasting legacy that inspires, encourages and motivates not only my own children, but others too.