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Doting on daughters

Photo: Sampath Kumar g.p.

Celebrating togetherness A daughter is a gem, precious and polished

A pair of small, tender hands gingerly clings to your little finger. You check to make sure the name-plate, pig tails, pinafore, bloomers, school bag, food basket et al are neatly in place for her first day at school. Just as the bell rings and you loosen grasp, your tiny tot tightens her hold. Smiling you get down on your knees explaining to her that she would learn to love school soon enough, as hot tears start streaming down from her enormous brown eyes…

Seemingly few moments later, tucked proudly into your arm is the slender arm of a beautiful, graceful and poised young woman, in a flawless white wedding gown. You trudge up the aisle to give her hand away in marriage to the smart young man standing at the altar. This time it is your grasp that tightens. With flushed cheeks, you fight the moisture in your eyes while your ‘little’ girl pats your hand reassuringly...

Daughters. Mama’s precious princess. And daddy’s little angel. And yet tradition calls her ‘paraya dhan’ (another’s wealth). In a country where foetal sex determination is still illegal because of the ‘stigma’ associated with bearing a female child and dowry deaths still continue, it is heartening that we have a day in the year dedicated to daughters – to celebrate the liveliness, richness and fulfilment they add to our lives.

Alice Leen Jacob, who was adopted when she was just seven months old recounts how her parents described the day she became a part of the family: “A cute little seven-month-old baby girl, was standing up holding the wooden bar of the cradle and smiling at us in a wet diaper” - a sight they took home, and affectionately nurtured, for the rest of their lives!

Alice, who now has as an 18-year-old daughter Jilz, and two younger sons, says “Raising a daughter is an infinite gift. Sons are a great asset too but there sure is something sweet and special about having daughters!”

She adds that being just 19-years-old herself when Jilz was born, the relationship they share is more like sisters or friends “so we fight, joke, dance together, shop together, be absolutely crazy with each other enjoying every moment!”

Jilz currently pursuing her higher studies in New Zealand, is all praise for her parents, “being the only girl, I’ve always enjoyed being special. If not for never-ending, pure love I’ve experienced from my parents, I wouldn’t be as strong a personality – independent, sincere and committed to achieving the big goals I have set for myself! ”

Lisa Almeida, who works in the hotel industry in Australia for the last few years, recalls her mom’s words: “I’ve been blessed twice myself. Never would I have traded my daughters for a son, they are my pride and joy.

Quips Lisa, “my parents have given me the best, and I thank God for a making me a daughter to them!”

“As a daughter, getting into disagreements is part of the job description, adds Anupama Sebastian, 18, who is in medical school in Ohio, United States. “But as my parents and I grow, mature and learn from each other’s mistakes, it becomes easier.”

A beautiful poem by PJ Leen, dedicated to his daughter Alice Leen, seems to sum up what most us want to say to our ‘little’ girls: It is said : “Son is a son till he gets a wife. Daughter is a daughter all her life.” If you have a daughter, today is as good as any other, to let her know how special she is. And if you are a daughter, here is to many more years of love and laughter you effortlessly bring to your families.

LI'L ANGELS