Murli | Short Story of a Single Father

Here’s a little window into the life of a Single father, trying to ace it all like any other single mother. I hope you enjoy the short story, just as much as I enjoyed penning it.

Barely 10 minutes after the alarm went off at 7am, Murli woke up with a start. With his habitual calculated moves, he turned to his left and scooped his 5 year old son in his arms. “Get up Baba! You have an early school today! You don’t want to be late”

The humble 1 Room Kitchen house they he lived in, echoed with his words which were a mix of English and Telugu… as he persistently tried to wake up his son. Annamalai, unaware of the urgency in his fathers’ voice, continued to twist and turn and grunt, refusing to open his eyes. With 1 leg in his dream world where he was about to lick the most colourful and tasty popsicle, and the other on the stool next to the wash basin, Murli handed him his toothbrush.

“Dayacēsi bābā ippuḍu braṣ cēyaṇḍi” he begged of his son. (Meaning, Please baba Do your brush now, in Telugu). While Annamalai inched his way into senses and getting ready, Murli switched on the stove with a large cooker on top of it. It was his son’s first picnic today, and he wanted to make it special for him. So Murli made the one dish he knew well, Idli, with coconut chutney.

Idli was to take another 15 minutes to be ready to serve and be packed for tiffin, so he stepped out of the kitchen and marathoned his way to the bathroom. Anna was in all his senses now and was happily making toothpaste bubbles.

“Appa! See!!” he called out Murli in absolute excitement, as he blew the bubbles in his direction.

“Annaaaa….! It’s your picnic today, have you forgotten? Appa has made Idlis for you! Come on now, move your hand fast!”

The word “Idli” made Annamalai spring into action immediately and the next 10 minutes were all about him completing one task after the other, like a pro. Meanwhile, Murli ironed his son’s uniform and hung it from the corner of the doorknob. This was one ritual that made him miss his wife the most. She would always iron his pant shirt and hang it on the doorknob. He still remembered the doctors’ final words, “I am really sorry Murli, but we couldn’t save your wife. She died due to excessive blood loss, right after the delivery of your son. ”

Till date, Murli felt the vacuum that her absence had created. His family members and relatives suggested Murli to re-marry, if not for himself, at least for the sake of his new born. But Murli knew. He knew he was enough to give the love of both father, and mother. He couldn’t imagine any other woman but his late wife as his life partner. And with her not being around anymore, he decided to be a father and a mother to his son.

The constant chirping of sparrows on the window sill brought him back to reality. He looked at the clock, and realized there were only 15 minutes left for the school bus to arrive. Annamalai, all of 5 years jumped into the warm arms of his father and hummed a rhyme, while being rubbed dry!

Murli being the proud single father that he was, wiped the sweat off his forehead, sipped some water and gave Anna small pieces of Idli while struggling to slip into his school uniform. “How do mothers perfect the art of multi-tasking”, he would always mutter under his breath.

As the school bus honked at their door step in no time, Murli kissed his son good bye and waved in the direction of the bus until it was out of sight.

With Household chores all done and Anna been sent off for school, the second drill of getting ready for his day began.