Today is Father’s Day and the world celebrates the same. I do not believe in these marketing gimmicks to promote sales of products by companies. However, today I would like to share ten life lessons, I learnt from my father.

A. Patience : Patience in life can win over enemies as much as your friends and family. My father was a true embodiment of patience right through his life and I have learnt over the years to instil patience in my life.

B. Role modelling: As a father, he never gave advise to us on anything in life. Whatever he believed was good was by lived by him in real life. He was and he is my best role model in life till date.

C. Unconditional love : My father was not an emotional person. He did not believe in hugs and kisses. But his love was unconditional and more in action than in his words.

D. Lead by example : Even at the workplace, I have met his colleagues who adored him for his behaviour and actions. His friends always like him more for his actions since on any case he was a man of few words.

E. Silence : My father proved through his life and living that “Silence” is more powerful than his words. He hardly spoke and his silence was always admirable. He would make his presence felt by his silence than his words.

G. Giving unconditionally : My father completed his homeopathy post retirement from service and practised at home to serve the underprivileged with no fees. He never expected anything in return for his services in life from anyone.

H. Family first : His love and care for his family was to be seen to believed. Having lost his father early, he took care of his siblings, their education and marriage and did not expect anything in return from anyone.

I. Simplicity : My father lived a simple life. He was a central government employee but never lived beyond his means. He managed to build a house for his family with his own earnings and did not leave a single rupee as debt even after his death.

J. Fairness and equity: My father was always fair and equitable to all his children and siblings. He never differentiated between daughters and son or sister and brothers. No wonder he was admired by one and all – even friends and foes ( do no remember he had any ).

I wish I continue to imbibe some of my father’s noble qualities every day I live and continue to serve society and family, unconditionally.

S Ramesh Shankar

15th June 2025