{"id":6981,"date":"2024-09-18T11:16:57","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T11:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/?p=6981"},"modified":"2024-09-20T08:37:42","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T08:37:42","slug":"how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype\/","title":{"rendered":"How my dad and I broke a stereotype"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was on flight 6E6245, from Kolkata to Delhi. It was around 11:46 a.m. that we had landed and the first thing I did was text my dad \u201cLanded!! Smiley emoji<\/em>\u201d before heading towards the belt to collect my luggage, which in this case was a new Safari suitcase, red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I wouldn\u2019t go into the details of how I couldn\u2019t recognize my own suitcase, since it was turned upside down when it showed up \u2013 but anyways\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very soon I was reunited with my dad and my brother, who had accompanied him, and then we left for our car. It was a hired one, that came with a driver. Not an Ola or Uber, not sure an Ola or Uber would cover a distance of almost 100 kms from Delhi, towards Uttar Pradesh. After all, that\u2019s where our destination was \u2013 a small town in Uttar Pradesh, Shamli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, Shamli from \u2018Time stops at Shamli\u2019 by Ruskin Bond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where I grew up. A pretty nice place by the countryside, more so if you prefer peace and quiet over the bustling hubbubs of urban agglomerations. This was a place of fields and farms. And apparently, a place with no airports. So, if you were to travel by air, you\u2019d need to go to the nearest airport \u2013 Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Yes, 100 kilometers from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was going to be a three-hour journey and like all our previous travels, we\u2019d need to stop somewhere for lunch. And that place had to be a dhaba along the highway of Sonipat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why a dhaba though? Because, the aloo parathas were in a league of their own in these roadside palaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyways, after getting our car parked, my dad asked us siblings to go in first and he\u2019d follow after taking a puff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We went ahead and entered the air-conditioned eatery and chose a table at the extreme corner, on our right. The ambience was extravagantly spiffing. Dimly-lit lights and an elite d\u00e9cor, along with the fanciest of tables and well-cushioned chairs, it was perfect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We eagerly seated ourselves as we waited for our dad to join us shortly. I looked around to see if I could find any handsome Punjabis around, as my brother fiddled away with his phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t very long before our dad walked in and took his chair, that he stated, quite seriously if I may add, \u201cYou, my dearest daughter, are going to sit on that tractor while I take a few shots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWha- I\u2019m sorry, what?\u201d I was yet again taken aback by what my dad had randomly said. It wasn\u2019t anything new for him to bring up the most random of things at the most unproper of places but seriously, now? And what the hell did he even mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My brother didn\u2019t even spare him a glance, just an amused smirk as he kept busy with his phone. His body expression clearly had the words \u2018and there we go again\u2019 written all over it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My dad repeated, \u201cJust outside this room, there is a tractor, they had probably kept it there for selfies and stuff. I want you to climb up on that so that I could take a picture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUm, why?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, the other kids were also-\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKids dad, kids. I\u2019m 20. I\u2019m not a kid anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo what? The tractor is big enough for adults. You are getting on that and I\u2019m going to take a few pictures. If you want, your brother can sit on the extra seat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cDon\u2019t bring me into it, I\u2019m simply not interested.\u201d My brother casually replied, his uninterest widely visible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sighed and looked at my dad, \u201cWhy do you even want me to climb on that tractor? There are way too many people here, if a grown woman like me climbs on that, people are definitely going to stare.\u201d I reasoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s exactly why!\u201d He sounded even more serious than ever. He very subtly lowered his voice, as he continued, \u201cI\u2019ve been watching numerous families sending their kids to ride that thing while they\u2019re taking the shots. Every one, I mean every family, is sending their sons to take the driver\u2019s seat and their daughters to the extra-side seat. I mean why? Why aren\u2019t the girls urged to take the center seat with the boys on the extra one? Like, if my daughter can travel all the way from Kolkata to Delhi all by herself, why are these girls not even allowed on the driver\u2019s seat for a few mere pictures?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it did make sense now. Why my dad had suddenly gotten the idea of getting me on top of that. And it seemed like my brother also agreed to whatever our dad was saying since he too, had turned his phone off momentarily to look at our dad\u2019s face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you take the center seat and your brother takes the extra seat, we\u2019ll be proving a point that even girls can do what everyone expects a boy to do. So, what do you say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, if you put it that way\u2026 I guess\u2026\u201d I was hesitant at doing something so ridiculous, and yet (probably) meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAwesome! Let\u2019s order then!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t yet agreed to it\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s see, aloo parathas for you two and aloo puri for me!!\u201d dad exclaimed, he wasn\u2019t going to hear any more excuses then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sighed, letting go of these recent thoughts regarding this whole proving-a-point thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After finishing up with our meals, dad called out the waiter and asked him to bring up two chais. (two glasses of teas). That\u2019s another interesting fact about these dhabas,<\/em> they serve tea not in cups but in glasses. And as for why dad ordered only two glasses, was because of the quantity. The quantity of only one chai <\/em>served was enough for the two of us, who rarely drank beverages after having lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll only be a minute, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure. And then, bring us the bill please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waiter nodded and left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow, listen good guys. After we\u2019re done with our tea, don\u2019t just rush off towards the car, we\u2019ll get the pictures first, okay?\u201d my dad said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgain with that? I thought I said I hadn\u2019t agreed to that yet.\u201d I facepalmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut\u2013\u201d my dad began, he would probably have given an explanation to why doing that was necessary for the society and what not, but was interrupted by the waiter who had arrived with our chais.<\/em> And very confidently, he had placed one glass in front of my dad and went round the table to put another glass in front of my brother\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that was infuriating, in a way at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like, he could have very well placed the second glass in front of me, which would have been easier for him as well from his position (my brother sat in the opposite direction, so the waiter had to go around the table to place the glass in front of him) and there was also the fact that I was older, and I looked older, making me more likely to have ordered the chai.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But no, he had automatically assumed that since I was \u2018woman\u2019, I wouldn\u2019t be drinking tea. And that reminded me of this strange thing that my high school friends used to mention all the time when I asked them to accompany me to a tea-break, \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t drink tea\u2026 it\u2019s not good for my skin, it\u2019ll darken. Women need to be fairer, even more so than men, you know.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I could never quite piece it in my head together that what did drinking tea had to do with men and women? And wasn\u2019t the reason for dark skin among Indians the amount of melanin present in our skins?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh God, this did take me back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get those damn pictures!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few stares, a few turned\u2013faces, a few moving lips and most of the heads subtly looked in our direction, eyes lingering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost every woman had carried that smile on their face when they saw me taking the driver\u2019s seat on that tractor. Not the sarcastic or I\u2019m-better-than-you smiles, a genuine smile enveloped with tons of unspoken emotions, as if they\u2019re respecting the choice. As for my brother, he definitely betrayed me by not getting on at all. He smiled and clicked pictures from all angles, ready to send that in the family group. And my dad? A big, wide and proud smile grazed his lips as he too cheered comments of praise and took a few shots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the entire moment was done, I had gotten down and we were ready to leave; through the corner of my eye, I glanced at a little girl pointing at the same tractor while tugging at the hem of her father\u2019s untucked shirt. Another little boy, probably her brother stood there alongside his mother, while the father kept staring at my dad\u2019s back.
Mission Accomplished<\/em> I deemed.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was on flight 6E6245, from Kolkata to Delhi. It was around 11:46 a.m. that we had landed and the first thing I did was text my dad \u201cLanded!! Smiley emoji\u201d before heading towards the belt to collect my luggage, which in this case was a new Safari suitcase, red. Now I wouldn\u2019t go into the details of how I couldn\u2019t recognize my own suitcase, since it was turned upside down when it showed up \u2013 but anyways\u2026 Very soon I was reunited with my dad and my brother, who had accompanied him, and then we left for our car. It was a hired one, that came with a driver. Not an Ola or Uber, not sure an Ola or Uber would cover a distance of almost 100 kms from Delhi, towards Uttar Pradesh. After all, that\u2019s where our destination was \u2013 a small town in Uttar Pradesh, Shamli. Yes, Shamli from \u2018Time stops at Shamli\u2019 by Ruskin Bond. That\u2019s where I grew up. A pretty nice place by the countryside, more so if you prefer peace and quiet over the bustling hubbubs of urban agglomerations. This was a place of fields and farms. And apparently, a place with no airports. So, if you were to travel by air, you\u2019d need to go to the nearest airport \u2013 Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Yes, 100 kilometers from home. It was going to be a three-hour journey and like all our previous travels, we\u2019d need to stop somewhere for lunch. And that place had to be a dhaba along the highway of Sonipat. Why a dhaba though? Because, the aloo parathas were in a league of their own in these roadside palaces. Anyways, after getting our car parked, my dad asked us siblings to go in first and he\u2019d follow after taking a puff. We did. We went ahead and entered the air-conditioned eatery and chose a table at the extreme corner, on our right. The ambience was extravagantly spiffing. Dimly-lit lights and an elite d\u00e9cor, along with the fanciest of tables and well-cushioned chairs, it was perfect. We eagerly seated ourselves as we waited for our dad to join us shortly. I looked around to see if I could find any handsome Punjabis around, as my brother fiddled away with his phone. It wasn\u2019t very long before our dad walked in and took his chair, that he stated, quite seriously if I may add, \u201cYou, my dearest daughter, are going to sit on that tractor while I take a few shots.\u201d \u201cWha- I\u2019m sorry, what?\u201d I was yet again taken aback by what my dad had randomly said. It wasn\u2019t anything new for him to bring up the most random of things at the most unproper of places but seriously, now? And what the hell did he even mean? My brother didn\u2019t even spare him a glance, just an amused smirk as he kept busy with his phone. His body expression clearly had the words \u2018and there we go again\u2019 written all over it. My dad repeated, \u201cJust outside this room, there is a tractor, they had probably kept it there for selfies and stuff. I want you to climb up on that so that I could take a picture.\u201d \u201cUm, why?\u201d \u201cWell, the other kids were also-\u201d \u201cKids dad, kids. I\u2019m 20. I\u2019m not a kid anymore.\u201d \u201cSo what? The tractor is big enough for adults. You are getting on that and I\u2019m going to take a few pictures. If you want, your brother can sit on the extra seat.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t bring me into it, I\u2019m simply not interested.\u201d My brother casually replied, his uninterest widely visible. I sighed and looked at my dad, \u201cWhy do you even want me to climb on that tractor? There are way too many people here, if a grown woman like me climbs on that, people are definitely going to stare.\u201d I reasoned. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly why!\u201d He sounded even more serious than ever. He very subtly lowered his voice, as he continued, \u201cI\u2019ve been watching numerous families sending their kids to ride that thing while they\u2019re taking the shots. Every one, I mean every family, is sending their sons to take the driver\u2019s seat and their daughters to the extra-side seat. I mean why? Why aren\u2019t the girls urged to take the center seat with the boys on the extra one? Like, if my daughter can travel all the way from Kolkata to Delhi all by herself, why are these girls not even allowed on the driver\u2019s seat for a few mere pictures?\u201d And it did make sense now. Why my dad had suddenly gotten the idea of getting me on top of that. And it seemed like my brother also agreed to whatever our dad was saying since he too, had turned his phone off momentarily to look at our dad\u2019s face. \u201cIf you take the center seat and your brother takes the extra seat, we\u2019ll be proving a point that even girls can do what everyone expects a boy to do. So, what do you say?\u201d \u201cWell, if you put it that way\u2026 I guess\u2026\u201d I was hesitant at doing something so ridiculous, and yet (probably) meaningful. \u201cAwesome! Let\u2019s order then!\u201d \u201cI haven\u2019t yet agreed to it\u2026!\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s see, aloo parathas for you two and aloo puri for me!!\u201d dad exclaimed, he wasn\u2019t going to hear any more excuses then. I sighed, letting go of these recent thoughts regarding this whole proving-a-point thing. After finishing up with our meals, dad called out the waiter and asked him to bring up two chais. (two glasses of teas). That\u2019s another interesting fact about these dhabas, they serve tea not in cups but in glasses. And as for why dad ordered only two glasses, was because of the quantity. The quantity of only one chai served was enough for the two of us, who rarely drank beverages after having lunch. \u201cIt\u2019ll only be a minute, sir.\u201d \u201cSure. And then, bring us the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[90,94,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-6981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-shortstories-golpolekharlorai","7":"tag-golpolekharlorai","8":"tag-competition-2","9":"tag-techno-india-group"},"yoast_head":"\nHow my dad and I broke a stereotype - technotimes.info<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How my dad and I broke a stereotype - technotimes.info\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I was on flight 6E6245, from Kolkata to Delhi. It was around 11:46 a.m. that we had landed and the first thing I did was text my dad \u201cLanded!! Smiley emoji\u201d before heading towards the belt to collect my luggage, which in this case was a new Safari suitcase, red. Now I wouldn\u2019t go into the details of how I couldn\u2019t recognize my own suitcase, since it was turned upside down when it showed up \u2013 but anyways\u2026 Very soon I was reunited with my dad and my brother, who had accompanied him, and then we left for our car. It was a hired one, that came with a driver. Not an Ola or Uber, not sure an Ola or Uber would cover a distance of almost 100 kms from Delhi, towards Uttar Pradesh. After all, that\u2019s where our destination was \u2013 a small town in Uttar Pradesh, Shamli. Yes, Shamli from \u2018Time stops at Shamli\u2019 by Ruskin Bond. That\u2019s where I grew up. A pretty nice place by the countryside, more so if you prefer peace and quiet over the bustling hubbubs of urban agglomerations. This was a place of fields and farms. And apparently, a place with no airports. So, if you were to travel by air, you\u2019d need to go to the nearest airport \u2013 Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Yes, 100 kilometers from home. It was going to be a three-hour journey and like all our previous travels, we\u2019d need to stop somewhere for lunch. And that place had to be a dhaba along the highway of Sonipat. Why a dhaba though? Because, the aloo parathas were in a league of their own in these roadside palaces. Anyways, after getting our car parked, my dad asked us siblings to go in first and he\u2019d follow after taking a puff. We did. We went ahead and entered the air-conditioned eatery and chose a table at the extreme corner, on our right. The ambience was extravagantly spiffing. Dimly-lit lights and an elite d\u00e9cor, along with the fanciest of tables and well-cushioned chairs, it was perfect. We eagerly seated ourselves as we waited for our dad to join us shortly. I looked around to see if I could find any handsome Punjabis around, as my brother fiddled away with his phone. It wasn\u2019t very long before our dad walked in and took his chair, that he stated, quite seriously if I may add, \u201cYou, my dearest daughter, are going to sit on that tractor while I take a few shots.\u201d \u201cWha- I\u2019m sorry, what?\u201d I was yet again taken aback by what my dad had randomly said. It wasn\u2019t anything new for him to bring up the most random of things at the most unproper of places but seriously, now? And what the hell did he even mean? My brother didn\u2019t even spare him a glance, just an amused smirk as he kept busy with his phone. His body expression clearly had the words \u2018and there we go again\u2019 written all over it. My dad repeated, \u201cJust outside this room, there is a tractor, they had probably kept it there for selfies and stuff. I want you to climb up on that so that I could take a picture.\u201d \u201cUm, why?\u201d \u201cWell, the other kids were also-\u201d \u201cKids dad, kids. I\u2019m 20. I\u2019m not a kid anymore.\u201d \u201cSo what? The tractor is big enough for adults. You are getting on that and I\u2019m going to take a few pictures. If you want, your brother can sit on the extra seat.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t bring me into it, I\u2019m simply not interested.\u201d My brother casually replied, his uninterest widely visible. I sighed and looked at my dad, \u201cWhy do you even want me to climb on that tractor? There are way too many people here, if a grown woman like me climbs on that, people are definitely going to stare.\u201d I reasoned. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly why!\u201d He sounded even more serious than ever. He very subtly lowered his voice, as he continued, \u201cI\u2019ve been watching numerous families sending their kids to ride that thing while they\u2019re taking the shots. Every one, I mean every family, is sending their sons to take the driver\u2019s seat and their daughters to the extra-side seat. I mean why? Why aren\u2019t the girls urged to take the center seat with the boys on the extra one? Like, if my daughter can travel all the way from Kolkata to Delhi all by herself, why are these girls not even allowed on the driver\u2019s seat for a few mere pictures?\u201d And it did make sense now. Why my dad had suddenly gotten the idea of getting me on top of that. And it seemed like my brother also agreed to whatever our dad was saying since he too, had turned his phone off momentarily to look at our dad\u2019s face. \u201cIf you take the center seat and your brother takes the extra seat, we\u2019ll be proving a point that even girls can do what everyone expects a boy to do. So, what do you say?\u201d \u201cWell, if you put it that way\u2026 I guess\u2026\u201d I was hesitant at doing something so ridiculous, and yet (probably) meaningful. \u201cAwesome! Let\u2019s order then!\u201d \u201cI haven\u2019t yet agreed to it\u2026!\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s see, aloo parathas for you two and aloo puri for me!!\u201d dad exclaimed, he wasn\u2019t going to hear any more excuses then. I sighed, letting go of these recent thoughts regarding this whole proving-a-point thing. After finishing up with our meals, dad called out the waiter and asked him to bring up two chais. (two glasses of teas). That\u2019s another interesting fact about these dhabas, they serve tea not in cups but in glasses. And as for why dad ordered only two glasses, was because of the quantity. The quantity of only one chai served was enough for the two of us, who rarely drank beverages after having lunch. \u201cIt\u2019ll only be a minute, sir.\u201d \u201cSure. And then, bring us the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"technotimes.info\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-18T11:16:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-20T08:37:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Suhani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Suhani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Suhani\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/#\/schema\/person\/52f742aad793dfc02d07f7b001125dad\"},\"headline\":\"How my dad and I broke a stereotype\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-18T11:16:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-20T08:37:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype\/\"},\"wordCount\":1548,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"#GolpoLekharLorai\",\"competition\",\"Techno India Group\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Short Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype\/\",\"name\":\"How my dad and I broke a stereotype - 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technotimes.info","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/technotimes.info\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/how-my-dad-and-i-broke-a-stereotype\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How my dad and I broke a stereotype - technotimes.info","og_description":"I was on flight 6E6245, from Kolkata to Delhi. It was around 11:46 a.m. that we had landed and the first thing I did was text my dad \u201cLanded!! Smiley emoji\u201d before heading towards the belt to collect my luggage, which in this case was a new Safari suitcase, red. Now I wouldn\u2019t go into the details of how I couldn\u2019t recognize my own suitcase, since it was turned upside down when it showed up \u2013 but anyways\u2026 Very soon I was reunited with my dad and my brother, who had accompanied him, and then we left for our car. It was a hired one, that came with a driver. Not an Ola or Uber, not sure an Ola or Uber would cover a distance of almost 100 kms from Delhi, towards Uttar Pradesh. After all, that\u2019s where our destination was \u2013 a small town in Uttar Pradesh, Shamli. Yes, Shamli from \u2018Time stops at Shamli\u2019 by Ruskin Bond. That\u2019s where I grew up. A pretty nice place by the countryside, more so if you prefer peace and quiet over the bustling hubbubs of urban agglomerations. This was a place of fields and farms. And apparently, a place with no airports. So, if you were to travel by air, you\u2019d need to go to the nearest airport \u2013 Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Yes, 100 kilometers from home. It was going to be a three-hour journey and like all our previous travels, we\u2019d need to stop somewhere for lunch. And that place had to be a dhaba along the highway of Sonipat. Why a dhaba though? Because, the aloo parathas were in a league of their own in these roadside palaces. Anyways, after getting our car parked, my dad asked us siblings to go in first and he\u2019d follow after taking a puff. We did. We went ahead and entered the air-conditioned eatery and chose a table at the extreme corner, on our right. The ambience was extravagantly spiffing. Dimly-lit lights and an elite d\u00e9cor, along with the fanciest of tables and well-cushioned chairs, it was perfect. We eagerly seated ourselves as we waited for our dad to join us shortly. I looked around to see if I could find any handsome Punjabis around, as my brother fiddled away with his phone. It wasn\u2019t very long before our dad walked in and took his chair, that he stated, quite seriously if I may add, \u201cYou, my dearest daughter, are going to sit on that tractor while I take a few shots.\u201d \u201cWha- I\u2019m sorry, what?\u201d I was yet again taken aback by what my dad had randomly said. It wasn\u2019t anything new for him to bring up the most random of things at the most unproper of places but seriously, now? And what the hell did he even mean? My brother didn\u2019t even spare him a glance, just an amused smirk as he kept busy with his phone. His body expression clearly had the words \u2018and there we go again\u2019 written all over it. My dad repeated, \u201cJust outside this room, there is a tractor, they had probably kept it there for selfies and stuff. I want you to climb up on that so that I could take a picture.\u201d \u201cUm, why?\u201d \u201cWell, the other kids were also-\u201d \u201cKids dad, kids. I\u2019m 20. I\u2019m not a kid anymore.\u201d \u201cSo what? The tractor is big enough for adults. You are getting on that and I\u2019m going to take a few pictures. If you want, your brother can sit on the extra seat.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t bring me into it, I\u2019m simply not interested.\u201d My brother casually replied, his uninterest widely visible. I sighed and looked at my dad, \u201cWhy do you even want me to climb on that tractor? There are way too many people here, if a grown woman like me climbs on that, people are definitely going to stare.\u201d I reasoned. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly why!\u201d He sounded even more serious than ever. He very subtly lowered his voice, as he continued, \u201cI\u2019ve been watching numerous families sending their kids to ride that thing while they\u2019re taking the shots. Every one, I mean every family, is sending their sons to take the driver\u2019s seat and their daughters to the extra-side seat. I mean why? Why aren\u2019t the girls urged to take the center seat with the boys on the extra one? Like, if my daughter can travel all the way from Kolkata to Delhi all by herself, why are these girls not even allowed on the driver\u2019s seat for a few mere pictures?\u201d And it did make sense now. Why my dad had suddenly gotten the idea of getting me on top of that. And it seemed like my brother also agreed to whatever our dad was saying since he too, had turned his phone off momentarily to look at our dad\u2019s face. \u201cIf you take the center seat and your brother takes the extra seat, we\u2019ll be proving a point that even girls can do what everyone expects a boy to do. So, what do you say?\u201d \u201cWell, if you put it that way\u2026 I guess\u2026\u201d I was hesitant at doing something so ridiculous, and yet (probably) meaningful. \u201cAwesome! Let\u2019s order then!\u201d \u201cI haven\u2019t yet agreed to it\u2026!\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s see, aloo parathas for you two and aloo puri for me!!\u201d dad exclaimed, he wasn\u2019t going to hear any more excuses then. I sighed, letting go of these recent thoughts regarding this whole proving-a-point thing. After finishing up with our meals, dad called out the waiter and asked him to bring up two chais. (two glasses of teas). That\u2019s another interesting fact about these dhabas, they serve tea not in cups but in glasses. And as for why dad ordered only two glasses, was because of the quantity. The quantity of only one chai served was enough for the two of us, who rarely drank beverages after having lunch. \u201cIt\u2019ll only be a minute, sir.\u201d \u201cSure. 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