Yaar-Papa (Buddy Father)... How times change!
Yaar- Papa... That's how my son addresses me. He has been doing so for sometime but somehow I only noticed it a few days back. " Yaar " in Hindi is generally used for someone who is a bosom friend ( langotiya yaar sounds better) and "Papa" should wield respect and a guarded distance. That truly sounds like an oxymoron, surely Yaar & Papa seem contradictory. Forget calling my Father Yaar- Papa, I wouldn't dare even uttering the " Yaar " word in front of him as he considered it sadak chhap (language of the ruffians), all of which was forbidden to be used. I would barely see my Father once a week, sometimes even once a month when he would go off on extended business tours. He had a large family to feed and five younger siblings to get married off while I was being brought up by my Aunts. There was absolutely no way of getting any closer to my Father. So, when I heard my son calling me Yaar-Papa, it made me thinking. While everyone keeps