Holding Syed Mehdi

In the first months of his son's life, a father discovers awe, presence, and the transformative power of love.

- Dr Syed Eesar Mehdi

On 16 September 2025, Syed Mehdi Mosvi was born. The world shifted the moment he arrived. He is only two months old, and already time moves around him, shaped by his breath, his cries, and the twitch of his tiny fingers.

The philosophers speak of transformation, but none prepare a man for the depth of becoming.

Beyond books, fatherhood is discovered in the way a child's presence rearranges priorities, redefines courage, and renders ordinary moments profound.

I watch him lie on the blanket, his gaze fixed on the ceiling as though it is a cathedral, and I am reminded of Blake: to see a world in a grain of sand, a heaven in a wild flower.

He sees the world in ways I had almost forgotten.

The curl of his fingers, the blink of sunlight in his eyes, and the sigh that escapes him in sleep teach me how to notice, and be fully present.

Children arrive with wonder, untouched by routine or expectation. Adults lose this gift. The new born brings it back.

He brings it back as he rests his face on my chest. Our heartbeats meet, and that single touch carry the weight of the whole universe.

The tenderness that seizes a father at first touch is unlike any other feeling. It is not pride or fear, though both run alongside it. It is awe. Rumi wrote that we are born of love, and I understand now that love shapes both father and child.

The devotion that makes me tiptoe to his crib at night, the stillness that sweeps over me when he smiles in sleep, originates in a place older than thought.