CHENNAI: Our dads’ daily antics teach us more than any varsity can. Rochana Mohan and Amit Bandre show you how
Financial finesse
Capitalism is scary and a little dubious, but there’s no one who advocates more for a strong credit score than your dad. The nitty-gritty of the banking sector is explained, in a long, winding manner filled with tangents to you over dinner, in the hopes that you’ll finally start saving some money. Aside from some corrections from my Chartered Accountant mother, there’s no better personal finance course available in any university — only the University of Dad.
Do nothing
You know how you go to bother your dad and he’s just sitting there? And when you ask him what he’s thinking, he says…nothing? How can anyone think about nothing? It’s not humanly possible! You have to think about something, for example, how the rise of right-wing politics has changed the Indian political climate in ways that will probably be written down in history. Maybe thinking nothing is how dads aren’t so stressed all the time. It’s a good lesson to learn.
Speedy shopping
A trip to the mall can last anywhere from three to six hours. But dads spend exactly thirty minutes in the area — which means they’re inside the mall for precisely fifteen minutes. Want brown shoes? There are three shops that sell them. The first shop isn’t good quality. The second shop is too expensive and the third shop is just right. Dads don’t believe in the Goldilocks system of shopping, and prefer the much quicker Hansel and Gretel mode of business transactions — look, consume, leave before the witch (other tempting stores) catch you. After all, there are only so many hours in the day, and being a dad is time-consuming.
Laugh at yourself
Dad jokes are a force to reckon with — the pain you undergo should be recorded in medical books. But despite their quality, all dads will laugh at their own jokes. At the end of the day, no matter how serious things are, we need to laugh at ourselves and take some situations lightly, because after all, you don’t weigh too much (because light. Gettit? The dad jokes are genetic, I fear).
Health is wealth
Sneeze once in front of mom and you’ll get some soup and a hug and cuddle before bed. Sneeze once in front of dad and it’s a full-on medical emergency. Appointments for tests, from endoscopic to gastric, have all been lined up through the day. Tablets — or other medication — are carefully bought in excess, just for safety, and doled out properly with a glass of water at the end of the night. Dads are firm believers of taking care of yourself so that you are at your best always. You still get that extra hug and cuddle, though.
Handy helper
When moms decide they’re going to put their feet up because they’ve had it and deserve a break, in swoops dad to save the day. When dads take over the roost, we enter an alternate dimension — healthy eating becomes an added benefit rather than the focus, planning out the day isn’t very important and laundry is suddenly a game of hide-and-seek. The lesson of swooping in to help your partner in your own unique way is great until you break something and it’s back to the well-made rules mom had set.
Work hard, play hard
After a long day of signing paper, finishing tasks and being a team player (generic because I still don’t understand my dad’s job fully, something-something business), dads come home, take ten minutes to breathe, and then finish off a long day with a long night of joking around, sharing tales from their childhood, pulling your leg and creating memories that you’ll cherish forever. A dad’s definition of a work-life balance is something to aspire for.