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When My Father Retired...
When My Father Retired...
When my father retired from the Government service, he was eligible for a pension. He had to submit the photos of my mother and two minor children, being the nominees, as per rules. My sister and myself were minors then.
My father took not only three of us, to the photo studio, but all my siblings also. It was a rare chance for all of us, to face a camera and a big event, for the first time in our family, during 1960s.
A group photo of all the members of our family was taken first, wherein, we two minors sat in the floor, while all our elder siblings standing behind our parents. Our parents were seated, in chairs, in the middle in the second row. This photo was taken to please all of us. However, it was a happy moment, to remember forever.
In the second photo, I stood near to my mother, while my sister stood near to my father. Parents were sitting in chairs, between both of us. We had the special privilege of standing with our parents while taking this photo, as we were minors then. Only this photo was taken for official purposes, which had to be submitted to the father’s office.
The third photo taken was that of our parents alone, in a sitting position, though it was not required for any official purpose. One extra copy of the three photos was ordered and got it framed and put on the wall. Years later, more copies were made and kept with each of my siblings.
The group photo is still hanging on the wall of our ancestral home. All my siblings settled in different parts of the country.
Whenever we visited our ancestral home, it was the first thing to see our old photos, hanging on the wall. We used to clean the glass frame with wet clothes, trying to see our clear faces in them.
Anyway, it was really fun to see our old photos and a reason to laugh at each other among our siblings and their children, because there were vast changes in all of us. However, it was a nostalgia for all of us, remembering the by-gone days.
But alas, our parents are no more now, but their photos remain mute spectators of changes.
