1984 Father's Day In English

It is really true, and maybe nothing truer has ever been spoken, Ravi reflected, as he listened attentively to the guest speaker at his college’s 1984 Father’s Day program. After having to forcibly use two huge matchsticks to keep his eyelids from closing in (compliments the prior presenter!), he suddenly awoke fully to the penetrating words of the next orator who, upon beginning his speech, vibrantly and enthusiastically exclaimed, “God gave us parents because He knew He could not be at all places at all times!” Ravi needed to hear nothing more; sitting through a three-hour long program was eventually worth the pain he had on his butt and the boredom he suffered initially. This declaration made by the speaker resonated with the teenager. He
His dad also took a very active role in the household responsibilities in addition to working ridiculously long hours, and as Ravi’s mom fondly remembered, it was he who whistled sweet lullabies to the kids as he tucked them in almost every night, sometimes literally forcing their eyes shut. What a beautiful gentleman he was: cool-headed and cheerful. And whereas the mother was the disciplinarian—and a very strict one too—the dad was the more patient and tolerant parent who rarely punished his sons and daughters. Ravi still has memories of the swollen cheeks from the slaps he got from his mom; too many to keep count! And the eldest brother did get a few teeth forcibly extracted too from his mom-turned-dentist! It was no surprise then that the dad was the favourite parent of the two to some of the children. Yet had it not been for their ambitious and visionary mom, they may have grown up never owning a family home, nor achieving the highest level of tertiary education, something their seventy plus cousins did not quite share. Mr Ali (Ravi’s dad) never did much washing and ironing, but he was technically skilled around the home and competent at housekeeping and cooking, favourite dish being chicken pelau, a national dish of Trinidad & Tobago comprising a cook up of rice, peas, and either beef or chicken. Ravi always had seconds and thirds when
The mom grew up with her grandparents; her dad was deceased and her mother had remarried. Yet she was brought up like a princess with all the love and attention any child would crave. They had little materially, but kindness, respect, and care were in abundance. Mr Ali’s dad died when he was only eleven years old, and being the eldest among five children, young Ali had to abandon school and become the main breadwinner in the already very poor family. Many a time, his mom and siblings went without food; sometimes they would just have un-ripened mangoes as a full meal, other times plainly boiled green fig they would have gotten from the neighbour. Life was extremely tough for this family, but it was not abnormal as the 1940s were challenging times in Trinidad & Tobago for most.
However, Ravi’s paternal grandmother never gave up and in her most desperate moments she sought solace by visiting the grave of her deceased husband, who was just thirty seven years at the time of his death. She would find herself sitting by the tomb, all alone, any hour of the day, and pouring her heart out to the spirit of her soul mate, tears flowing like an angry river, thereby dissolving her grief and expelling it out her system. Sure, she left the cemetery empty-handed, but certainly not empty-hearted or hopeless. The spirit of her husband always gave her more strength and