Shahid was a boy from a middle-class family in India. His father was the bread earner of the family and tried his best to give Shahid a fine upbringing. On the other hand, Shahid thought that his father works so hard and probably earns well. He fulfilled all his needs but whenever Shahid asked for something other than his basic requirements, his father would deny. Shahid was taught in an expensive Christian school and he was with the kids of the richest people of the society. He wanted to go to Shimla on his school trip but his father said he was too scared to send him to heights. Shahid found it absurd and he did everything to persuade his father but the man was a hard nut to crack. He started hating his father when his father would count the pens he had bought and would ask him to never waste money. The same was the story of his grandfather who told Shahid how difficult it was to earn. Shahid felt choked. He wanted to enjoy more. He failed to notice that he ate the finest ice creams in the market, read the best and the most expensive books, ate fast food at outlets like Mc Donalds, had coolers (not ACs) installed at every window of his house and had a trip every year with his family; But they rode a scooter, stayed in mediocre hotels when they visited a place and travelled in public transport instead of using cabs or private autos. Shahid felt his father is a miser and needs to change his habits to keep him happy. He argued with him to let them have a luxurious life. Shahid grew up to be a not so successful man and his father came to his support as and when he needed. He still felt that his father worked so much his entire life, saved so much by not having a luxurious life and he should have enough to settle Shahid with a huge business investment. His father was fine with helping shahid with food and the basic money that he needed, till the time he got a job.

Shahid soon got a decent job and his condition started getting better. He got married in the meanwhile and it was a big decision for him. Shahid hadn’t saved much and still needed the aid of his father. Meena, the girl Shahid married, got pregnant within a year of their marriage. His father promised that he would get the baby delivered in the best hospital in the city, just as he gave Shahid the best ice cream and saw that he traveled the country while he was young. On the day of the delivery, Shahid was upset that his father didn’t buy Meena an independent room in the hospital and instead it was a semi-private room. He failed to notice that it had all the amenities that a private room has. The only difference was that this room was shared by two people instead of one.

As Shahid moved up the ladder of his career, he found the life to be tougher. He had an infant to raise, a wife who had her basic needs, a small rent to pay as he moved to a different city and a lot more than he had ever imagined. He still drove his father’s car, left his wife and child with his father and mother and was just paying his own expenses so that he could save. He realized life isn’t a bed of roses and buying those small things for his family too got difficult at times. He earned well but the money just flew off.

Shahid was learning that it was difficult to raise a family. He was worried about getting his child enrolled in a good school after 2 years. He still had his father behind him supporting him in his ups and downs. He realized that the coolers in their house had been replaced with ACs and his father owned two houses now. Shahid didn’t have an AC where he lived as he knew AC would cost him an arm and a leg. It was an expensive affair and even more expensive was the electricity bill that had to be paid.

While discussing his expenses with his father one day, he asked what his father’s salary was. His mother interrupted to say that he shouldn’t be concerned about his father’s salary.  He was still curious as he thought that his father would be earning way more than he earned. There were three maids employed at their place, who were hired when Shahid’s mother faced health issues. They continued with them when Shahid had his first baby so that the baby is raised in the best possible way and Meena is there with the baby most of the time, and not doing the household work. They had two ACs installed and ate lavishly. If a man pays Rs. 5000 as his electricity bill, has 3 servants, gets his grandchildren delivered in a wonderful hospital and is raising his grandchild when the father is out for work, he must earning a fortune and obviously way more than Shahid earned, who had a loan to pay off, had a small rent and almost negligible electricity bill.

Shahid was still curious how much his father earned. One day, he found that his father had forgotten his wallet at home and he opened it to see if there is something his father would need and can’t really do without that day. He found a folded piece of paper, which read “Salary Slip” as he unfolded it. It was his father’s salary slip. He was astonished and numb for another 15 minutes. His father earned 20 thousand lesser than Shahid earned. He was at a salary of Rs. 50,000. Shahid was in tears and wanted to know how his father managed it all. He must be earning even lesser when Shahid and Meena had a daughter. He would be earning much lesser when he went for trips and was admitted to an expensive school.  His father even bought a good car in between which Shahid drove.

He went to his mother and showed her the slip. His mother knew what she saw. “How did he manage all this time?” Shahid said. His mother smiled and moved away to the window to get some fresh air. She sighed and looked at Shahid, who was still waiting for an answer.

“Shahid, your father took a loan to get you enrolled in that school. It took him 10 years to pay it off. Everyone laughed at your father to send you to that expensive school but he never listened to anyone. He took one loan after the other to buy the two houses that you see. He has gradually paid if off and is free now. He has been under loans all his life. He never slept well for he was always worried about how he would manage the household with those amounts to pay. Shahid, he didn’t have enough cash when Meena was in the hospital. He had to pay a lac for that room which you didn’t want Meena to be in. He had Rs. 89000 left in his account and he made an overdraft of 11,000 to get it done” she said without a break. Shahid realized that he hadn’t contributed in his wife’s delivery.

Shahid didn’t sleep that night and kept calculating how his father is managing that house every month, which has his newborn to raise (in Shahid’s absence for his job), electricity bills, servants’ salaries, medical bills and Shahid’s medical insurance to pay. He also bought the monthly groceries that Shahid never contributed for. The salary was much lesser than what his expenses were. It would have been an overdraft every month, or he must be withdrawing his savings. How would he save for his old age or should I save for him now as he has given everything to me and this house. He realized that his father wasn’t rich and neither did he have a huge reserve of money. He was working very hard every day to fulfill what his family needed.

Shahid never talked about it to his father as he never wanted his father to know that he knew about it. But now Shahid was seeing things in a different light. He felt guilty for thinking bad about his father and wanted to do everything that he could for his parents and for his wife and kid. He realized, his father never had an extra penny, but he tried to satisfy all the needs that his family had; Even if it required borrowing money every month

“Fathers are never rich but they do their best to pretend that they are rich enough to raise their kids. Never tease them for not doing something. Don’t force them to do something as they might not have it in that moment. Count what you have received from them and thank them sincerely for every bit they do.”