Spare The Rod And Spoil The Child

FlashNano 2021

 

03.11.2021

 

Day 3: Write about something wrong that turns out to be right

 

Spare The Rod And Spoil The Child

 

It was a lazy afternoon.  The wife and kids had left to attend a wedding.  I’d stayed back – someone had to be there with Papa.

 

Papa is 95 years old and bedridden.  Looking at his thin frame, all skin and bones and listening to his barely audible voice, one could hardly imagine that he was a huge man in his heydays, whose voice had me quaking in fear.

 

“Beta..(son),” he called out, suddenly.

 

“Yes, Papa..”

 

He looked at me with compassionate, smiling eyes.  This was uncharacteristic of him and I wondered what he was up to.

 

“I’ve been very harsh with you as a kid, right?”

 

These unexpected words immediately transported me back in time by a few decades.

 

=====×=====

 

“Get up, you lazy oaf!!  Do you expect us to spend two hours waking you up everyday?”

 

The accompanying kick on the butt had me on my feet immediately.  I didn’t want cold water splashed on my face.  “I hate you, Papa,” I told myself, as I got ready for school.

 

I still wake up at 5 am all by myself, as if there’s an alarm clock inside my head.

 

=====×=====

 

“The school bus driver is not your servant to wait for you!!  Buck up, get ready soon!!”

 

I muttered under my breath and gobbled up my breakfast.  Upma or poha or dosa (breakfast items),  I hate all of them, but I feared Papa’s stinging slap more.

 

I’m never late for a business meeting or a family outing or for that matter, anything.

 

=====×=====

 

“You’d better pass, or else…”

 

I was an average student and my greatest achievement in school was to get promoted to the next class.  It was the day we received our report cards and undoubtedly the worst day of the year, even more than the exams.

 

“Best of luck, beta,” Ma called out as I left for school.  It did nothing to mitigate the effect of Papa’s threat. 

 

I was a sweaty, shaky, limp bag of nerves by the time I received my report card.  As usual, I’d scraped through with a couple of red lines and grace marks.  The thought of Papa beating me to pulp made me burst into tears.

 

Today, I’m able to rise above failures in life with a willpower to learn from them and succeed in the next attempt.

 

=====×=====

 

“Dress properly!!  You’re going to office, not to a movie!!”

 

“Switch off that TV and go to sleep!!  Don’t be late for office tomorrow!!”

 

“Branded shirt?  How different is it from an unbranded one that you’ve to pay a thousand more?  Money doesn’t grow on trees, even if you’re earning it!!”

 

I grew up to be a strong, thrifty man who could face some of the worst situations in life with great inner strength.

 

=====×=====

 

“Beta..”

 

The weak, trembling voice still had the power to make me sit up with full attention.  I returned to the present.

 

“Beta, I was wrong.  I should not have been so harsh…”

 

I placed a gentle finger on his lips and interrupted in a loud but gentle voice, with clear lip movement for his impaired ears to understand,  “No, Papa, you were right.”

 

Image courtesy: Vectorstock