A father’s letter to his unborn daughter

Dear Child,

We have not selected a name for you yet, but we are trying, very hard! Every evening, your mother and I sit to decide and are left perplexed because no name seems suitable for our little angel.

It has been a while since we have learned of your existence. And it has been a learning experience ever since. Parenting does not come with a manual or a guide. I am repeatedly being told that every pregnancy is unique, and every child born will be unique.

But know this, your baba is a fast learner. I pray, you will be one too and we will have loads of fun learning things — for the first time in our lives.

I will be there when you flip for the first time, the first time you utter the words, baba…or take your first step. I will be there when you cut your first birthday cake, I will be there when you run like the wind on green grass of Ramna Park, go to school for the first time…

…These I can only hope and pray, but I cannot promise.

Maybe you would want me to make the promise. That I will be there for you always; to protect you from every evil out there. Make things easy for you. But truth be told, I cannot…

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

I can only help you face life as it comes. I can only try to be your aide — I can help you utter your first words, but I cannot choose them for you. I can help you take your first stride, but I cannot promise I will be there to catch you every time you start running and fall. It's a crazy world out there, and no matter how much I try, we both try, Baba cannot be there to protect you from every harm.

I can only teach what life has taught me. And it has taught me a lot. And perhaps, that is why I would rather be your friend — and perhaps your best friend — and not your protector. God is there to take up that role.  

If you are still having trouble recognising who this is, I am the voice — the other one! — The one that tries to be funny and recite 'Tyash Goru' to you every single evening. You may not understand any word from the poem by Sukumar Ray now, but by the twists and turns and the frequent kicks every time I go, Tyash Goru goru noy asholete pakhi shey, gives me the impression that you are having no trouble understanding what FUN is!

Today is what they call Father's Day. Every day is a Father's Day I am being told. And every single moment passes by, I am made aware of that fact. From the moment you came to exist, we share a bond that will last a lifetime, and more. And all I can promise is that it will be a ride of a lifetime, for the both of us.

Love, baba!