For Samaira Banga, 13, her father Inderjeet Singh Banga, founder of Biggie Hospitality (that owns Pirates of Grill, Prankster and Pra Pra Prank restaurants), completes her world. “He watches out for me but never overrides my decision. As a result, I’ve become independent-minded,” says the student of Shriram Moulsari Gurgaon.
While chatting with them on Daughter’s Day (rather interrupting their little celebration at Prankster), we saw her trying to solve a technical glitch on his phone. She then looked up and sighed. “He does his best to keep up with technology for my sake but it takes some effort for him to wrap his head around it.” Minutes later, Inderjeet surprises her with a pair of AirPods. “Oh wow!” she cries out, repeating many “thank you dadda’s” thereafter.
“It’s fun being out with him. He’s funny and caring, and of course, always pays the bill,” says Samaira, giggling. Only thing that annoys her about him – his lectures. “He is super intelligent, but he needs to chill,” she says, to which Inderjeet responds, “I promise to chill but she must share her feelings when she is upset or annoyed. I worry when she doesn’t.”
“All Shirin asks for is my time and every year on this day, I switch off from work and the phone, to be with her. Last year she took me to Jim Corbett, and it was one of the most satisfying trips I’ve taken. This year, we watched a movie and had dinner,” says Vikrant, founder, Café Delhi Heights, and Nueva.
The two are quite inseparable, noticeable when we met them for coffee. Everything she said got validated by him, and vice versa. “My father and I do a lot of things together. We are both dessert lovers and we often share big plates of calorie-laden desserts. We go buying cheese and chocolates together. We also love stationery shopping,” says Shirin, 17, who studies at DPS RK Puram.
In what looked like a river of ripe red tomatoes, Rahul Kumar, founder and director of Red Mango, India, and his daughter Anisha Kumar, 18, laid fatigued, gasping for air. They had been pulling and tugging at each other while splattering tomatoes for what seemed like an eternity at the annual La Tomatina Festival in Spain on August 28. “A tad in advance, but this was the best Daughter’s Day gift. He is the coolest person I know. Always determined to match up to my energy so that I get to do what I want,” says Anisha.
With this, they struck off another wish from their bucket list. Few days ago, they also learnt scuba diving together.
Daughter’s Day, however, was quiet as Anisha is away studying at IE University, Madrid, pursuing a dual degree in law and business. But they still found a way to celebrate. “We set a time up and spoke over the phone till both of us dropped asleep,” says Rahul, slightly teary on recalling the episode. “I wish she was here. The way she cuddles... After she crossed her teenage years, she became more like a mother than a daughter, so I crave her presence but I am thankful that we could take this three-week road trip across Spain. It brought us even closer as we saw each other strengths and vulnerabilities and accepted them gracefully,” says Rahul.