Munish Sharma | Story for Dad
16835
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-16835,single-format-standard,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,side_area_uncovered_from_content,qode-child-theme-ver-7.8,qode-theme-ver-10.0,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-4.12,vc_responsive

Story for Dad

Story for Dad

Munish sat next to his father on the couch.
He looked outside, he had asked for snow for his visit home and he got it.
It wasn’t the big snowfalls of his childhood but like most things from your childhood eventually things become small.
Except Dad.
Maybe he had shrunk in height, but parents always have that “larger than life” effect on their children. Munish knew he could sit here next to his father, do nothing, and it would bring him more joy than some of the adventures he’s had the past year.
The year had had some sharp edges that Munish needed to learn to smooth out.
It had left Munish off.
Hari Sharma knew his son was off, and not off in fantasy, just off.
Munish glances at the TV and notices his father is watching one of those singing shows that play on every other channel these days. It bugs him.

“ I don’t get the point of this. Can you imagine Dad? You’re a 16 year’s old and all you’ve ever wanted to be is a singer. Then you get on one of these shows. Where people watch you for weeks, pump you up, make you feel like your something special and then nothing! The show goes on but not your career.”

It was a grim outlook. His father knew that as well.

“It’s hard making your dreams come true.” his father said. “ You know…I used to sing.”

Munish smirked. He knew he father used to sing, he still sings, his family is a bunch of amateur singers, but he knew a story was coming.

“ I was pretty good too.”

“Dad you’re still pretty good, you just have to sing more.”
Munish knew his father’s voice had lost a bit of its strength, but his Dad did have a great voice. Next to his Mother.

“ You know when I was in elementary school, my teacher overheard me singing on the playground one day.”

“Oh Yeah?”

“ Yeah, he called me over and said, You should take my music class. You have a very good voice and I can teach you how to make your voice stronger. “

“ And?”

Munish’s Dad grins and chuckles, “ Well, I knew what my Dad would say, but I said, what the hell. Let’s see. So I went home after school and asked my Mom first, and guess what she said?”

“ What?” Munish already knew.

“ Go ask your Dad, haha. So I did. I said Dad the music teacher at school thinks I have a good voice. He wants me to train with him. Can I do it? And you know what my Dad said?”

“What?”

“ You wanna end up like one of those singing bums on the street, with no home or life? Stay in school; you don’t need to be a singer. And that was the end of that.”

Munish was a little confused. Was his Dad trying to tell him he should be lucky his parents didn’t say that to there son “the artist”? Was he about to hear it now?

“ So. When I went back to school the next day I told my teacher, but my teacher didn’t let up.
He said I should sing a song at the school assembly when the local minister visits”

“ Are you serious?” Munish had never heard this before.
He had no idea he actually had a chance to perform once

“ So did you?” Munish asks, completely invested in the story.

“ Well, I said ok. I decided to sing this Bollywood song sung by Mukesh.
It was the song my teacher had overheard me sing on the playground. You know Mukesh?”

“ Yes, Dad.” Munish knew every golden age singer of Bollywood. Thanks to his Dad.

“ Anyway, we were in this line backstage. The whole school was there, I could even see the Minister sitting on these benches in the middle of the kids. My turn was coming up and I started to get scared. I never sang in front of that many people. So I ran.”

“ What?”
Munish thought he was going to hear about his father overcoming his fear, and making such an impression that the whole school stood up and applauded.

“I ran. Straight out of the school all the way around the outdoor auditorium and looked through this hole in the bricks. I heard them call my name a few times and when I didn’t come they moved on.”

“ Dad that’s terrible. That could have been your chance.” Munish was crushed. It was another moment in his father’s life where if he had been encouraged to try, instead of being assured he would fail. Maybe things would have turned out differently.

“ Maybe. But Munish it takes a lot of courage to get up on a stage, and not everybody can do it.
But you can. I want you to know that I am very proud of you. I understand it can be hard to-“

Munish jumped up and hugged his Dad.
Snowfalls can be small.
Not Dad.

 

 

 

by Munish Sharma