For his 80th birthday, my dad asked for the gift of time. What we gave him will last generations | Ranjana Srivastava

My father was more thrilled with his present than the times we gave him lovely photos, swanky dinners and a fancy laptop

I waited until I was 15 years old to have my first major disagreement with my physicist dad. We were living in India, and I had just been elected (note, not appointed) captain of my high school. Shortly before I assumed office", he was offered a coveted position at an American university. My teenage self was incredulous that he would put his career over my popularity.

My pleas to stay back at boarding school were to no avail. My father made no effort to reassure me that the massive geographical and cultural shift would work out. Instead, he said we were sailing uncharted waters and would have to make the best of our situation. So off we went to freezing Minneapolis where we spent a year before my dad's reputed lab was invited to move to Pittsburgh. My exasperation was complete.