
“My Son, Friend, Philosopher, Guide”
Is this your story?
Add your story behind this photo.
He's a kid, he's 15 years old. His name is Rohan. But I think a father and son have many relationships. I don't know what I mean to him, hopefully I'm like a role model. But for me he's not just a son. He's a friend as well. And the last couple of years, he's not just a son and a friend, he's also a philosopher and guide. If I am multi-tasking in my professional work, or if I've got issues in my personal life, I turn to him for help. And when I turn to him for help he invariably gives me very sound advice. I don't want him to feel pressurized at a young age. But I'll ask him very simple questions, you know 'I've got three things to do, what should I focus on?' and he has this ability of getting to the root of what the issue is and saying 'Dad I think you should focus on that.' Professionally for example, I'm based out of India but I was in the UK last week and I'm here this week. So I told him 'You know, I think 2 weeks is enough for me. I'll come back to India. So he comes and tells me 'Dad, you know everyone at Accenture knows you as the guy who handles Coke. You can't go to US and not visit them.' And I said 'You know something? You've hit it on the head. I have to go visit them.' So I listen to his advice. A lot of times it makes sense. The other issues – let's say if my wife is not feeling happy. I turn to him for advice – 'What do I do to get her feeling happy?' Invariably whatever he says turns out to be correct. And I think he knows his mom better than I know my wife so I turn to him for advice on various issues, personal or professional. C: How did he become that way? I don't know... I think it's just a trait he has. C: How does that feel for you? I feel very proud of him, no doubt about it. So when we saw people appreciating various things, I thought this is my chance to tell my son, 'you're my son, you're my friend,' but the last couple of years I definitely see him as a philosopher and guide.