That Ineffable Smile

                             

When someone asks me about the one who influenced me the most in my life there is only one face which flashes across my mind like a strike of lightning,and that's my father's face. If you ask me why?,I don't really know the answer. He is neither the most successful man I have ever encountered in my life nor had he  done a lot of brave deeds to inspire me. I guess maybe it's because he is the one who taught me that you should have dreams in your life or because he is the one who taught me not to give up. No, my father never gave me those long boring hours of life lessons, but he always showed me how to go on with this journey called Life. I must say that he was a great fighter as he was able to survive in Gulf countries when he was only eighteen and was on his own without knowing anything about their culture, language etc. And he also fought with life pretty well when he lost his one leg in a road accident at his early twenties and he would always describe those days of hardships with a smile on his face. And that smile is what that inspires me to fight my way back to this "Perfect World" when sometimes I feel like I don't really fit in. My father was into small scale business and he failed several times that I have heard the people around him saying him to stop. But he always smiled and came up with another interesting idea and failed again. I believe that it was just his way of saying "hold on and keep trying until you reach your true goal". As far as I remember he always had that "when life gives you lemons, hurray! Let's make some lemonade" attitude towards Life and that's the reason for which I have always admired him the most. Anna Letitia Cook once said "Mentors are all around us. Who makes you feel confident,inspired, focused and is willing to share their experience ?" and yes, for me that's my father.

- Aswathi Sasi