Malayali Man Goes Barefoot, Trades Pants For Dhoti After Knowing Why His Father Never Visited Him In Bahrain

He never knew why his father refused to visit him in Bahrain despite his mother coming over thrice. And when he, and also the world through his Facebook post, discovered the reason, it hurt like a thorn stuck up the heel.

His farmer father feared that being barefoot- and his dhoti-clad appearance would embarrass his son among his peers in the foreign country where he worked. The farmhand had neither tried a footwear nor slipped himself into a pair of trousers ever in his life.

But what made the son a social media darling was his decision to go unshod and ditch pants for mundu – partly to make his father feel comfortable and mainly as a penitence for making his father think of himself as uncouth.

Devis Devassy said he took this decision to show his father that he was not ashamed of his barefoot nor his mundu.

“I love my barefoot father,” said Devassy in his facebook post where he also uploaded a photo sitting barefoot with his father and mother in the airport – yes finally he agreed to fly.

The post has gone viral on social media, especially among the Malayali expatriates in the Gulf. The post has come at a time when old-age homes thrive in the state and abandoning of parents are widely reported. According to reports, Kerala has the largest old-age population in the country.

Here is the translation of Devassy’s Facebook post:

I Love My Barefoot Father

Since long I have been inviting my appachan (father) to Bahrain where I work. But, all the time he politely refused my invite even when my mother came over to Bahrain thrice.. Only this December did I come to know the reason behind his reluctance.

We are an agrarian family. My appachan has never used footwear in his life. Nor has he worn the Western garment what you call pants. He refused my invite because he thought it would be a shame for me in front of my friends in Bahrain to see him barefoot and wearing lungi.

Today we are leaving for Bahrain. As long as my appachan is in this Arabian country, I will be with him barefoot and wearing lungi. What I am today is a result of the blood dripped from my father’s barefoot while he walked over stones and thorns- across fields and orchards, atop hills and mountains. I don’t agree with those who fancy-dress their parents to maintain their status quo.

It is a bit painful to walk barefoot. But I enjoy it when it reminds me of the struggle our parents have gone through to raise us. I realized the struggle of a parent only after I became a father. Let’s gift them flowers when they are alive instead of giving floral tribute at their tombs.

I totally believe that it is the duty and responsibility of and every child to respect and protect their parents in their old age.