We all have grown up listening to this phrase – ‘The Child is the Father of the Man’. But to be honest, as a child, I always had this question, “What does it actually mean?”
Times have changed since I first heard this phrase, so have the relationships, and today in 2020, the relationship between the two critical words ‘child’ and ‘father’ in that phrase has massively evolved.
As an actor, I have donned several hats, and at present, I am playing the role of Rajeev Bansal, father to a teenaged son in a show named – Tera Yaar Hoon Main and in real-life too, I am a father to a young boy. I have been in these kids’ shoes and also in my father’s that I have filled-in today. Looking back at this journey, I only feel amazed, and usually end-up with one conclusion – that our roles in the family have changed over time and there is a compelling need to talk about the changing role of children too.
If you are of my age and reading this, there is a slight chance that you might argue that as kids, we went through a more significant societal and generational transition. However, the point I want to focus on here is the fascinating journey of the phrase mentioned above – ‘The Child is the father of the man’, in the figurative sense this phrase might never have been as relevant as I believe there is a lot more we can learn from our children than we actually think we do.
One of the key reasons why I was thrilled when Sony SAB offered me Tera Yaar Hoon Main was because I do not recollect, watching a television show that has focused so extensively on a father-son relationship. A concept might be new for television but is highly relatable to all of us.
This December, I will turn 40, not just a year-older but also a decade wiser. We have grown up in societies where we are traditionally made to believe that parents are the gurus of their children. However, as far as my personal as well as experience as Rajeev in Tera Yaar Hoon Main has been, the world presents several possibilities for children to experience some things that we may not have been exposed to at that age and the learning only starts from here.
I am blessed to have a father who treated me more like a friend than a son, and as a result of this, our relationship has always been smooth. I believe kids need that vote of confidence to understand that you are on their side and everything you do and say is for their benefit.
Once they have the confidence in you, they will be more willing to share the newer things they learn, the newer slang they speak, and more importantly, what and how exactly they feel. Today, children have become their parents’ strength more than their weaknesses and more importantly, the foundation of that bond that keeps the entire family together. I would certainly like to believe that with the evolving times, our children are more like friends, their roles are evolving too just as our as parents’ roles are, won’t you agree?
