-Saisha Shrestha 

As a child, ‘baba’ had a straightforward meaning. He was the cool person who let you watch cartoons at night; the fairy godfather who gifted you pretty dresses and dollies; the knight who saved you from your mother’s scolding. As I grew up, I realized that I had painted a very superficial picture of my father. As endearing as these moments are, I’ve snapped out of my fairy tale dream where I lived as an ignorant princess.

Often times, we overlook the fact that our parents are humans too. We glorify them as other-worldly creatures that can make no mistakes. They are not supposed to grumble, cry or yell out in frustration. They are supposed to have a smile on their faces, even when they feel otherwise. My father, of course was the same. Now, I’ve come to acknowledge that my father does make his share of mistakes. Thanks to, i really can’t explain what, he had a tough time expressing his feelings.

I do look up to him but I also remind myself that he, too is a human- and to err is human. I’ve learnt to respect him for his hustle. Unlike in fairytales, he wasn’t born into royalty and riches but he made himself one. He had to start his own business from scratch with little to no money and before, he had multiple jobs for a living. Day and night, he had slaved away to establish himself as a successful businessman. The hard truth was that there were times when he had failed and wanted to give up. However, it was his father’s words that would make him stand right back up. And, those were the very same words he had told me on my first day of school. “Go on now. Yes, that’s right. One step at a time.”

Now, if you ask me, the word ‘baba’ has a different meaning. He is a dauntless warrior, an ardent believer and above all my best friend. Granted, he doesn’t wear capes or march into the arena with his swords out, yelling battle cries. He does so much more. Brave as a lion, he fights in this battlefield of life. Working ever so hard; late nights, tired mornings and endless work, yet a smile adorns on his face. His never fading faith has the power to move heaven and earth. As the baker turns flour and water to bread, as God turns seed and water to flower, he has built the foundation of who I am today. And, for that I call him a hero with no cape.