Time out

We sure have come a long way. Days dedicated to each and every unit of society. Sadly, the whole thing gets your goat for it absolutely reeks of yet another marketing ploy. Walking down the aisle in a card shop the other day, I was struck dumb seeing thenumber of cards quot;just for such an occasionquot;. I can now add a few more to the earlier list. Boss8217;s Day. An enterprising company even has cards for Cousin8217;s Day. And of course, Teacher8217;s Day has always been a part of student life. The day is not far when some day or the other will be celebrated as Family Doggie Day you could change that to whatever pet you own. Exaggeration. Maybe a little, but the threat is there. Mark my words.

What exactly is it that you are supposed to do on the above-mentioned days? I hate to admit it but this has me clueless as well. Do you sing an ode to the family deity? Too religious. Go on a picnic? Possible. A family holiday? Not feasible. Pinki has school, Tauji is out on a business tour, granny is not well, you know. Get around a bonfire and play antakshari and passing-the-parcel? Yes, that could be done. What could be more family-like than that?

Family Day. An eyewash. One more of those strange concepts that are adopted JLT. Just like that. Without knowing why. After all,some bonds are there forever. True, they are few. But days may come, days may go. They exist. Family is one. And please, I refuse to believe that you need to set aside one day to celebrate family. Oops, sorry, make that joint family. Would a day actually make that big a difference in the life of people who spend a lifetime together? Family loves, nurtures, protects, cares. Cherishes. Has done so always. It would take a lot for me to believe that celebrating the day would actually make the ties that bind and sometimes, as we all know, gag stronger. In fact, so deep is the bond that it is easiest to take the people who make your world go round for granted. I do it myself. All the time. Nothing to write about but isn8217;t that what makes family family? The fact that they are always there. That you can fall back on them. They are ready to pick up the pieces when you fall. Pat your back when you don8217;t.

I have seen families fighting. Tu tu, main main kind of fights. People tripping each other up all the time. Insome places, money, and not love, makes the world spin. And I have seen happy families. Small ones. Huge ones. My neighbour, originally from Calcutta, told me about her household there. More than a 120 people living together under one roof. Grandmas and grandpas, uncles and aunts, mummys and daddys, Simis and Rajus 8212; all in one huge house. Happy. For a person living with just her parents and a younger sister, her stories are always a little awe-inspiring. It8217;s the fact that they share a deep bond and a deeper love that keeps them together in this nuclear age. We are a family, you know, she adds.

I rest my case. You don8217;t need to put on some quot;I love my familyquot; kind of badge. Neither think up when you can8217;t think of any ways to show your folks that you care. Nor go crazy thinking what to do on that day. Just being there is enough. That8217;s family.