IN HONOUR OF DAD
English Version: Growing up in an Arab country, we didn’t really have much relatives around and so it was just friends, siblings and parents that you talked to frequently. My dad and mum were complete opposites. Mom was the soft, sweet one while dad was rough and even harsh. I rarely found anything similar between the two except maybe Malayalam and our heritage. I don’t usually think back to my early days, probably because it was painful. Dad wasn’t exactly the kind of person I wanted in my life. Over time I resented him for all the pain his hot-temper caused me. I even authored my first book as Tina J, all from the resentment. In looked at other dads and thought – wish my dad was like that. Dad was never easy on us and even made things difficult. In fact, he would often add fuel to the fire. We ended up turning to mom for comfort. I never could understand why other people liked him so much…. I mean he’s terrible to us, why are you all so fond of him? To me he was rough, rude and...