All of us make mistakes. When we are in that adolescent stage, we have this attitude that what we think is right and what are parents say and do are big mistakes. Everyone has this attitude; I had this attitude and I am not denying it. We tend to become rebels at home, thinking they are getting old and not moving with the new trends, they don't know what they are talking about because it is us who are in the big soup when there is a situation. Yeah, yeah....I have been through all those things too.
Dad and Mom are the kind of people who have had an individual life, each of them, since childhood and learnt things the hard way. They respect individuality and gave it to us (us being me and my younger sister). All four of us are different in every sense. Dad is a very good administrator and manager of businesses, a quality I think is in both me and Rose. He now manages Owen Trust Library at Nagercoil. He was a basketball player. He is vice-president of one basketball association, general secretary for another and is involved with another basketball association as well, all based in Nagercoil. He is a straight-forward man; people squirm in front of him if they have made a mistake. He is always fair and knows what he is doing - most of the time, of course.
Mom is a lecturer, in Biochemistry (eeks!), working at Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia. She is a very nice person, soft and gentle on the outside, and terrible on the inside. Dad and Mom, both of them are terrible on the inside. Me and Rose try not to do things that make us to see the terrible side of them often. We are very good kids, you see!
Mom's very spiritual and god-fearing. Her prayers sure are a big shield for us in this big world where we are alone in different corners.
We have had a lot of fun together during my school days. Almost every year, there will be a trip to Nagercoil and Kanyakumari. All of us enjoy the beach and playing in the water. I remember my parents taking us to the banks of River Cauvery when we were small. There was a part built on the banks, Mukkamboor, about 14 kilometers away from Trichy city. Dad had a bajaj scooter at that time and we all used to go together. After playing in the water, we used to play on swings at the park. Dad used to swing me to great heights - I used to love it a lot. I still enjoy swings, much to the annoyance of my mother!
There was a time when we had a Maruthi Omni Van for a few years. We used to go to Kodaikanal together and many of our cousins used to join us in those trips. Going to Kodaikanal was a very interesting affair - we used to stop along the way as we like, explore places, play at small streams which flow when there are heavy rains, and enjoy eating white corn. I have a lot of wonderful memories of that place.
Dad and Mom gave us the freedom we needed, with well-defined limits that we didn’t feel like defying for anything. Dad let me drive a two-wheeler but never allowed me on a four-wheeler. I respected that because I know what kind of a two-wheeler-driver I am! So I never felt like learning driving without his knowledge. I could have done it; I had the ways and means to do it. But I just didn't feel like doing because I trusted his judgement. I have met very few people who trust their parents entirely for every major decision of their lives, and they have lived happily ever after. I am not telling that I trust them blindly, but me and my parents have a level of understanding which is very unique in any parent-daughter relationship. I treasure that a lot.