The Feminine Touch

Elegance in Feminine virtue

It's not often that one gets to witness something that may not be seen as profound at the first instance but which can hold a delightful aftertaste. I was blessed to experience such an encounter in my recent travel. 

We were on our return journey from Tokyo and in the connecting flight from Dubai to Cape Town, among the many co-passengers, two infant families were seated in the first row wherein the bassinet is usually mounted onto the front. After the initial hustle & bustle of the excited travelers, I noticed a young dad in left-side of the front row holding his cute little baby and trying to gear him up for the long journey ahead consisting of 9 & half hours. For obvious reasons, I took it as a usual parenting act and didn't think much about it and like other travelers amusingly looked at the sweet bond being shared by the father-baby duo. Just then I saw another daddy figure standing up from the right-hand side of the front row and to my delight saw him too carrying his young baby and cradling him to sleep. This simultaneous activity of two dads standing up from either side of the front row and taking such loving care of their babies instantly touched my heart. 

Then onwards, there were several such moments of this amazing caring loving gesture being displayed by these two young men who happened to be so natural in this huge responsibility of keeping their young ones as content as could be possible on a long flight with its accompanying challenges. Needless to say that many among us were kept entertained by the cute interactions being shared between the infant and their caregiver. 

There came a point when many of us assumed that the dads were travelling alone with their little ones. This thought was natural as we could see the dads taking the babies to the washroom to change their diapers, freshen them up and cradle them to sleep while strolling on the narrow passage of the flight. The babies were surely getting the motherly affection from their dads and that was such a novel sight to witness. There have been many instances where I have seen dads helping out their partners in caring for an infant but 100% care being given without any prompt from their wives, that surely was a novelty.

Only after the flight landed and everyone disembarked, we saw that the mothers were very much present in the flight but the dads chose to be the main caregiver during the entire air travel. Upon landing, we saw the mothers taking over the responsibility. This joint effort of the parents gave a very enriching vibe to those around them as we witnessed the caring and sharing of these young couples, a fresh sight, a new-age decorum, an unwritten law and an eye-opener to anyone who assumes and compartmentalizes the duties of a man and a woman. 

It will be quite right to say that each one of us, whether male or female holds within us both the masculine and feminine qualities and wise is the one who knows and uses the right quality at the right time without holding onto that which the society might have laid upon them. A feminine touch to a masculine being and a masculine touch to a feminine being balances the odds and makes life so much more sweeter.