---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
Mahendra Bagaria <nid...@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 9:30 PM
Subject: [Shri Shyam] PARENTS ARE PRECIOUS (PLEASE THINK)
To:
pkg...@gmail.com, dominic pendanam <
dpen...@yahoo.ca>, Timothy Saldanha <
tsal...@gmail.com>,
brojen...@tatatea.co.in, Pankaj Bora <
Panka...@wttil.com>,
shri-...@googlegroups.com,
rlperu...@rediffmail.com, Ranjit Baruah <
ranjit...@tatatel.co.in>, Lalit Toshkhani <
Lalit.T...@tatatel.co.in>, Subhrojyoti Dey <
Subhroj...@tatatel.co.in>,
sunn...@hotmail.com,
jitend...@wmg.co.in,
cand...@yahoo.com.au
PARENTS ARE
PRECIOUS!!
This was narrated by an IAF
pilot at a Seminar recently on Human Relations :
Venkatesh Balasubramaniam
(who works for IIT) describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket for his
father, his maiden flight,
brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize that how much
we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.
My parents left for our
native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my
father had never travelled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him
experience the same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got
them tickets on Jet Airways. The moment I handed over the
tickets
to him, he was
surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent
on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day
and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage,
the baggage check-in and asking for a window seat and waiting restlessly for the security
check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome
with joy watching him
experience all these things.
As they were about to go
in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and
thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something
great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him. When he said thanks, I
told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire
incident, I looked back at my life. As a child, how many dreams our parents have
made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for
cricket bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their affordability,
they have catered to all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they
had to make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all
that they have done for us? Same way, today when it comes to our children, we
always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount
of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme
parks, toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot
for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their
dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young. It is our
responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is
complete.
Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I
have actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me
something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would
have felt at those moments. Let us realize that old age is a second childhood
and
just as we
take care of our children, the same attention and same care needs to be given to
our parents and elders. Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I
would
want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize
how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best
possible attention to all their wishes.
Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to
give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have
wishes, too.
Take care of your
parents. THEY ARE PRECIOUS.