My father… he is 85 years old now.
He has taught me many things. It is from him that I learnt to love and enjoy literature, sports, politics, people and so much more. In his meticulously bound collection of magazines, I discovered Malayalam’s greatest writers. A very well-read man himself, he gave me pointers on what to read until I started foraging on my own.
It’s safe to say that my father’s love for knowledge and information remains undiluted. Having heard that the internet is a treasure trove of information, he’s marvelled at it for a while. And during the pandemic, he expressed his desire to learn computers. I was sceptical that he would be able to learn a skill so completely foreign to him at his age. But, we decided to try.
He applied himself to learning with the curiosity of a child and the dedication of a student. Today, he is semi computer-literate. He can find information on the net and manage the basics on his own. As with his magazine collection, he is carefully curating information knowing that it will one day set another person on a journey of discovery.
As he mastered another skill, my father taught me another lesson. One has to remain curious. Be willing to learn. Age is not what matters. Life isn’t done when you retire or as you grow old. What matters is this — are you really living? Are you learning?
My father continues to teach as I help him to learn!