Daddy cool: Here's how celebs and entrepreneurs celebrate their dads on Father's Day

As another Father’s Day rolls around, it is time to remember the man who shaped your life in so many ways. It could be memories of a childhood, navigating a difficult path with your hand in his, or jumping off a set of steep steps, knowing he would catch you in time or just enjoying an afternoon in the presence of the person who provides, nurtures and looks after you unconditionally year after year.

Father’s Day, which falls on the third Sunday of June, is meant to honour fathers and father figures in one’s life and this could include step-fathers, fathers-in-law, grandfathers, great-grandfathers or other male relatives. It is celebrated worldwide to recognise the contribution that dads make to the lives of their children.

On this special occasion, many people try to do something unique for their father and the father figures in their lives. Each family has its own special traditions, which could range from a special phone call to your dad, or sending greetings by mail, holding a party for him or going to his favourite restaurant or just buying a thoughtful gift for him.

Due to the lockdown this year amid COVID-19, it may be more difficult to enjoy a full-fledged day of celebrations on Father’s Day. However, that will not reduce the importance of the day and most people are planning special ways to honour their fathers over this weekend.

YSWeekender caught up with celebrities and entrepreneurs to ask them about the significance of Father’s Day and what they plan to do for them, despite the lockdown

GAURAV TANEJA, aka FLYING BEAST, PILOT, CELEBRITY VLOGGER

Father: Yogendra Taneja

A civil engineer from IIT, Kharagpur, who decided to become a pilot, Gaurav Taneja aka Flying Beast is also one of India's biggest vlogger /content creators. Today, he runs two successful YouTube channels (Flying Beast and FitMuscleTv) with over 4 million subscribers where he shares his vlogs, daily life stories, travel and knowledge on fitness and nutrition.

What is your favourite childhood memory of your dad

One of the fondest memories that I still cherish with my father is attending carnivals during Dussehra with him. I was very fond of watching the firecrackers and burning of Ravana's statue. These festivals usually happen really late at night, so my mother and sister would be fast asleep, but I used to insist that I wanted to experience all of it and he would agree in a jiffy. 

Since these carnivals are usually really crowded, my father used to give me a ride on his shoulders, and we used to watch it till the end, even though he had to go to work the next day. Another one of my fondest memories of my father is playing cricket with him. I was really into cricket and I still am, and I can never forget how my father would always play the game with me.

What is the best advice you have received from him?

A very real and genuine bit of advice that I have received from my father is, never sell yourself for less than what you are worth. If you think you are being exploited by someone, or if there is an opportunity for which you are not fairly compensated, don't do it just for the sake of it. He always told me, you define your worth and if someone doesn't understand it, then let the opportunity go.

What do you plan to do with him or for him on Father’s Day?

This year for Father's Day, I am going to get my father a new phone as he has some issues in the phone that he is using right now. We will also buy a cake and have a small celebration for him.

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RANVEER BRAR, CELEBRITY CHEF

Father: Ishwar Singh

Ranveer Brar is an Indian celebrity chef, TV show judge and food stylist. His television shows include Breakfast Xpress, Snack Attack, Homemade, The Great Indian Rasoi, Health Bhi Taste Bhi, Ranveer's Cafe, Food Tripping, Thank God It's Fryday, Global Cuisine, Raja Rasoi aur Andaaz Anokhaa, Station Masters Tiffin and many more. He was also one of the judges for season six of MasterChef India.

What is your favourite childhood memory of your dad?

My favourite memory is of Dussehra when I was young. Dad used to carry me on his shoulders to see the Mela. That for me, symbolises a father - how he bears the weight of the family on his shoulders and always aspires to give his children something better than what he has/had.

What is the best advice you have received from him?

The best advice I've received from my dad is to be fearless. He broke away from family tradition to be an engineer. He's always taught me to be fearless. Another trait or unspoken advice that I received from him is to pen down thoughts. He writes and I'd say the gene got passed on to me because I love expressing myself as much through writing as my cooking.

What do you plan to do with him or for him on Father’s Day?

Junoon is his favourite movie, shot in Lucknow. He often talks about it. We are planning a Junoon watch party on June 21.

VANSHIKA GOENKA, FOUNDER, KOOL KANYA

Father: Balkrishan Goenka

Vanshika Goenka is the founder of Kool Kanya, a women-only networking platform that helps women build careers that they love, through a supportive ecosystem that offers career advice, community and a marketplace.

What is your favorite childhood memory of your dad?

My favorite childhood memory with my father is from one of our family holidays when I was 7 years old. We had decided to go to an amusement park and there was an extremely scary roller coaster, the one that rotates 360 degrees.

I am scared of heights so I was extremely worried about getting onto the roller coaster. I remember looking at my father with tears in my eyes and saying, “Papa I don’t think I want to do this”. My father turned around and said “Don’t overthink what’s going to happen, just trust that you’re going to have fun.”

Anxious as I was, I sat on the roller-coaster and 10 seconds in I was having a blast. That day my dad taught me our greatest joys usually come from conquering our fears.

What is the best advice you have received from him?

The best advice my dad has given me is to dream big. He always says “Bada socho!” because only when you aim for the stars do you have a shot at reaching them. He also always asks, “What is the worst that can happen? You’ll fail and will probably end up learning a lot.”

What do you plan to do with him or for him on Father’s Day?

My father loves playing games, and not just board games. Even today he loves playing Catch and Cook or Hopscotch. So, this Father’s Day, we will definitely be playing one of these games.

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RAHUL AGGARWAL, FOUNDER, COFFEEZA

Father: Rajiv Aggarwal

Rahul Aggarwal is the founder of Coffeeza, a premium brand of single-serve coffee capsules and machines for coffee lovers looking to prepare gourmet café-style beverages in the comfort of their home or office. He got his MBA from Babson College and his BSc from Purdue University in the US.

What is your favourite childhood memory of your dad?

I was born and brought up in Delhi. Back then, there used to be a popular ice cream chain called Nirula’s. My fondest memories are of my dad taking both my brother and myself for regular ice cream treats!

What is the best advice you have received from him?

He has always pushed me to give my best to whatever I do and never get complacent. He always says that, although it is nice to win, what really matters at the end is knowing that you’ve given your absolute best to whatever challenge you take on.

What do you plan to do with him or for him on Father’s Day?

We have plans of watching a nice movie together whilst enjoying popcorn and delicious homemade cappuccino.

ANURAG GUPTA, CO-FOUNDER, THE OTHER CIRCLE

Father: Dinesh Kumar Gupta

Anurag Gupta is a Chartered Accountant, whose number crunching ways and business acumen led him to establish The Other Circle PR and Marketing with his sister. He looks after HR for the company and focuses on co-creating growth strategy for the company.

What is your favourite childhood memory of your dad

I had once failed in a subject in school during the mid-term exams. My father gave me some motivational advice. That is still with me and I remember those words whenever I feel down and out.

What is the best advice you have received from him?

Whenever you are in a negotiation situation, always listen to the opposite person first, let him or her talk first till they have said everything they want to say and then talk. It will give you a better perspective of the situation.

What do you plan to do with him or for him on Father’s Day?

I plan to catch up on one of the movies with him of his favourite actor, Dilip Kumar.

SNEH JAIN, CO-FOUNDER & MD, THE BAKER’S DOZEN

Father: Praveenkumar Jain

Sneh Jain, Co-Founder, The Baker’s Dozen, an artisanal bakery brand, is an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and B Tech Pharma from UDCT, Mumbai. He worked with McKinsey and Co on projects all over the world. However, the itch to do his own business, finally overpowered any corporate aspirations and led to the birth of The Baker’s Dozen.

What is your favorite childhood memory of your dad?

My dad used to accompany me for all my competitive exams, right from drawing competitions to entrance exams such as CAT and wait the entire day sometimes. Being a doctor, this time away from his clinic would surely have been difficult but he would always make it a point to be there. Just seeing him after every exam would ensure that I could remain calm, irrespective of how the exam went.

One more memory is of long drives with him. Both my parents loved to go on drives and a 200 km round trip would be a norm on many Sundays!

What is the best advice you have received from him?

My dad has an almost Zen-like patience. We refer to him as our in-house Buddha! Keeping a calm head and ensuring stress and emotions do not overpower logic and reasoning at the spur of the moment has been my biggest learning from him.

What do you plan to do with him or for him on Father’s Day?

Unfortunately, we will be in different cities this Father’s Day. However, he has been pushing me to do yoga for general health which I have started in the past few months. Following his advice and making it a daily habit will be my gift to him this Father’s Day.

Lost Stories, Indian DJ duo (Rishab Joshi and Prayag Mehta)

RISHAB JOSHI

Father’s name: Pankaj Joshi

What is your favorite childhood memory of your dad?

My father is a musician and as a child, I used to love traveling with him for his shows, rehearsal, and recordings. I was fascinated with what goes on in the studio or before a show.

What is the best advice you have received from him?

I was obsessed with making electronic dance music when I was in college and I spent most of my time listening and studying to a lot of western music but he always advised me to balance it out by learning a bit of Indian music. Subliminally that advice helped shape the Lost Stories sound in a major way.

What do you plan to do with him or for him on Father’s Day?

I’ve just set up a laptop for him with all his favorite music apps for him to jam on during this lockdown, so I am guessing I’ll be spending the day being his tech support.

PRAYAG MEHTA

What is your favorite childhood memory of your dad?

My fondest childhood memory of my dad is when he bought me my first cricket bat. I was around 8 years old and all the boys in my society were in their teens. The only way I could play cricket with the "elders" was if I had the best bat and my dad ensured that I had a great one just so that I could play with my society friends.

What is the best advice you have received from him?

I hail from a traditional Gujarati business family and no one in my family had ever pursued music as a profession. For someone in my family to pursue music production/DJing as a profession was unthinkable.

But my dad completely supported my aspirations and even though he didn't understand the type of music I produced, he would listen to every track and give his feedback. He still has some of our oldest tracks on his iPod. I remember when I turned 21, he advised me to never give up on my dreams and aspirations. This thought shaped my outlook towards life in general.

What do you plan to do with him or for him on Father’s Day?

As my dad is above the age of 75, so I am not comfortable taking him out for dinner to celebrate due to the COVID-19 situation. Thus, we will cut an ice cream cake as he loves it and have a celebratory dinner as a family at home!