My Parents

Traditionally, in India, a father is the master of the house. His job is to provide comforts and security to members of the household. His wife, first and foremost is the mother of his children. In fact, traditionally, a woman in India is trained to think of herself as a daughter, a wife or a mother and never as herself.
My father was no different from other fathers of the time. We were five children. It was mother who fed us and trained us to be self-dependent. It was mother who played with us and told us stories and took us out to a nearby temple or a garden. Father was a busy man spending most of the time outside. He would come home to rest and we were not supposed to disturb him. We were trained to talk in a hushed voice while he was around.
Of course, in those days, there was no question of a father hugging his kids. Fathers were not expected to show emotions.
When I grew up and it was time for me to get married and raise kids, I was determined to be different from my father. I wanted to be a caring husband and a loving father.
I reproduce below a humourous piece I wrote quite some time back which throws light on changing perceptions in Indian households.