My Dad's name is Mr. Dipak Jagjivandas Agarwala. He has always been a loving dad. His short-tempered yet truthful personality has always attracted me. His life has always been more like a film story.

 

He was born on 9th September 1945 at Kasargod, a place in southern India. He was then brought up at Mumbai at Old Sonapur Street (now Shrikant Palekar Road), adjacent to a Hindu crematorium and a Muslim graveyard. 

 

At the young age of 9 years, my dad lost his father due to diabetic coma. I can only say that his golden period ended since then. His mother was uneducated. To have some source of income for the family, she started a mess service for the working professionals. No relatives came forward to help this family in the times of need; neither did they go to demand for any. 

 

A young boy, who used to play the whole day without worrying about the rest of world, now was expected to help his mother along with three of his siblings, Tani (Smita), Bachu (Suresh) & Baby (Ashalata). He took up the charge without complaining. He left the day school and took admission in a night school to be able to earn some money for his family during the daytime.  He would deliver newspapers in the morning; sell hairpins in trains in the afternoon and study in the night. He also served as an office boy in M/S Shirish & Co., a firm importing the clothing buttons. Somehow he managed complete his matriculation. 

 

By this time, he got his elder sister Tani married to a Gujarati schoolteacher Mr. Chandrakant Sheth. She earned her primary teachers certificate (PTC).

 

During these years my father got a true friend named Narenbhai. They shared a lot of good times together. Narenbhai is no more with us now.

 

One day a good person came to offer my father a job in Union Cooperative Insurance Company, which later was renamed as the United India Insurance Company Ltd. He joined there as an assistant in 1965.

 

Two years later a young Gujarati girl joined the same company. Being kind at heart, she started sharing her Tiffin box with this seemingly poor young man. People at their office thought this was more than just an innocent fellowship. Somebody informed to her parents and the situation started worsening for her. Ultimately she proposed to this young man for marriage, and they got married on 21^st September 1968.

 

To know more about my mother, please follow the link: www.geocities.com/kaustubhagarwal/Neelima.html

 

Soon after the marriage she left the company and did few other jobs, including one as the sub editor at Sudha – A leading feminine magazine of that time. Later she focused on further studies and completed her degree of law.

 

They together struggled to set their life. Just a year after my birth, in 1977, my father got transferred to Anand, a place in mid Gujarat. Leaving his mother with younger brother and sister, he shifted to fulfill the demand of his company. But, the struggle of life did not end here. Just two years later, in 1979, he got transferred again to Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Gujarat.

 

After the birth of my sister in 1981, we saw the some real good days coming our way. My father bought his own home, a tenement at an Ahmedabadi suburban area known as Ghatlodia. In 1982, on 13^th January, we shifted to our home sweet home.

 

In the year 1983, we bought the first television in the Ghatlodia area. I still remember, a big crowd from all over the Ghatlodia had gathered at my place to watch the Cricket world cup’s final match. Fortunately India won that world cup. In the year 1985, we bought a colour television and in 1989 we got our first landline telephone. The same year, we purchased our first two-wheeler, a Kinetic Honda Scooteret.

 

In the year 1996, we built a floor over our tenement and thus got a specious place to live. The same year I graduated from the college and got my first job to be a helping hand to my father. My father got me another scooter, Hamara Bajaj, in October 1996.

 

During these years my dad also rose thru the ranks in the office. Meanwhile he saw many inter branch transfers inside the Ahmedabad city. Ultimately he achieved his goal of, a class-one officer rank, before he got retired in 2004. The very next year, in 2005, we bought our first car, a Maruti Suzuki Wagon R.

 

Now he enjoys his retired life in good health and guides us to live a life to it’s fullest.

 

I’ve been fortunate to have him as my father, who has turned all the dark shades of life in to vibrant colours of happiness.

 

Thanks Dad, for everything that you have done for all of us at home. We all love you very much!