What happens over dinner...matters!

Life had thrown him many a challenge. Some more insurmountable than the others. But he had found a way. Always. His positive disposition and strength of character invariably saw him through.

It is never easy to bring up a kid, let alone three. And he had to do it single handedly. Destiny had cruelly snatched the love of his life in her prime. A void too huge to fill.

But he had stuck it out. Day in and day out. Managing work and life with great aplomb. And without complaints.

The best part of the day, right from when the kids were tiny-tots, was dinner time. No matter what, they all dined together. It brought a feeling of togetherness like no other. Neither painting nor travelling together came close to the cameraderie they felt when they dined together.

The kids grew up to become fiercely independent and self-confident women. But this tradition of dining together was sacrosanct. They excused themselves from office dinner parties, lame outings and even the Friday or Saturday night-outs were accommodated around dinner and not taking its place. It was a matter of huge pride for the dad. He always believed that a family that ate together, stayed together.

Dinner was also when they could be unashamedly themselves - share their darkest fears, their crushes, their disappointments and their highs. There were days like the one where one of the girls landed a promotion while the other had just broken up with a long time boyfriend. Those dinners were tough and mostly a ponderous silence prevailed and there was quiet acknowledgement of the former's success while comforting the latter who was understandably wallowing in self-pity.

But then life happened as it always does. The years passed and the girls found their significant others in different continents, flew out of the comforts of their nest and moved on in life to have their own families. All but one.

The youngest of the lot. Despite being a travel fanatic and loving to travel solo, she'd stayed on for dad.

They'd fight on every topic. Almost daily. Being generations apart does that. Different perspectives, differing approaches. But they'd always patch up during dinner. Because one thing united them. Their love for food. Their love of cooking. It seemed to be in their blood. The likeness.

She loved snazzy new ways and quick recipes that serve the modern youth. He pined for traditional methods of food preparation. Recreating recipes from the '50s and '60s. It brought back memories of his childhood, when every meal was an event in itself, extensive and elaborate.

One particular night in early 2020, she was more excited than usual and very chirpy at the dinner table. She had been chosen from among many suitable candidates at work, to travel to the US. A dream assignment that involved travel - an ask that was right down her alley.

The next evening, she had to hop on a flight and would be away for a couple of weeks. It was to be a welcome break.

At day-break on D-day, her dad was understandably morose while helping pack her checkin bags. The last of his girls would soon leave the coop.

She was a bit on the edge herself on how the assignment would go. Would she be able to pull it off while having some time to let her hair down?

Her dad had different worries. He wanted to have "The Conversation" with her before she left. "The Conversation" was the reason for a majority of their fights. It centered around the need to focus on settling down in life, having a family of her own and so on.

They'd fought on the topic. And as it always happens, some things were said in the heat of the moment. And they both left in a huff. The next few hours went by in a flash and before she knew it, she was boarding the flight. As she settled into her seat, she remembered what her dad had always taught his girls. "Never go to bed angry", he'd told them. Sage advice, indeed. It was hard to argue on a full stomach anyway. She promised herself that, upon her return, she would patch up with him over dinner.

And then, the pandemic struck. She was stuck 8000 miles away from home with all flights grounded. Her dad got over the initial shock by settling into the new normal. It gnawed at him that he'd chosen the wrong moment to bring up The Conversation with his daughter. And now, he knew she wasn't going to return anytime soon. She couldn't. The patching up was going to have to wait for many more dinners.

The monotony of living alone was taking its toll on him. After achieving everything in life at work and with the admirable upbringing of his progeny, he just had one desire left now. He had enough and more time on hand now - with all his daughters away - and with the pandemic raging.

He had, for long, cherished a desire to appear on a Masterchef show and share long-lost age-old recipes with the new generation through his passion for cooking. To see the joy, on their faces, of having a sumptuous, refreshing, healthy, hitherto unknown meal. It made sense even more now with everyone locked in their houses for months on end.

He auditioned for the part, and the show, by recording a video where his genuineness and passion shone through. And he waited. And waited. And waited.

There was no response. Neither acceptance nor rejection. They had just passed him by. He was crestfallen, his spirit crushed. All he wanted was an opportunity on stage to showcase and share something unique and beneficial to the generation of today. To help them with a life-long survival skill.

Just then, he received a call from the airport. His daughter had managed to get on board a charter and return. She was home, finally!

After an emotionally-charged reunion, she announced that she would prepare dinner that night. To his delight, his daughter cooked up a treat of his favorite dishes and placed a note each on top of the dish-of-the-day and the dessert-of-the-day. "Dedicated to the Best Chef, the world is yet to know". "Making the world a better place, one meal at a time".

He thought to himself, "You're my world and you know. It is all, that matters". His smile returned as they both sat down for what turned out to be a very special meal.