Father's Day Special: Two single dads share stories of how they bond with kids

Sanjay Sharma with his daughters Aayushi left and Shriya both of whom enjoy skating PicSatej ShindeWhen you get divorced the people you used to hang out with disappear Suddenly you have no friends and neither does your child begins Hemant Amrute 43 who has been raising his 12yearold son as a single parent since 2010 Similarly Goregaon resident Sanjay Sharma has had full custody of his daughters since 2013 when his older child was not yet five and the younger twoandahalf years oldHemant Amrute with his son Aryan before a parasailing trip in Goa last DecemberTaking on the role of both parents hasnt been easy for either of these single dads but that hasnt stopped them from providing their little ones with an upbringing that isnt lackingStriking a worklife balanceRecently actor Tusshar Kapoor and director Karan Johar made news when they became single fathers to children born via surrogacy But while these men who come from privileged backgrounds presumably have help this is not the case with most single dads who have to juggle work and kidsA normal day in the life of the Sharma family is hectic Luckily for me I run my own business so I do all my work when the kids are at school My job is to pick them up and later in the evening drop them off for skating or swimming lessons My older daughter has also been learning Kathak for two years while my younger one takes singing lessons shares 35yearold Sharma adding that his mother helps him out on the home frontAmrute meanwhile is also a busy entrepreneur but now feels confident enough to leave his son home by himself whenever required as hes a little older His challenge however lies in the kitchen I never learned to cook laughs the Thane resident adding Weve had a string of cooks come and go because both of us invariably end up not liking the foodNot to mention that being a single parent still has stigma attached to it which is multiplied when the single parent in question is the father In the beginning people would say Yeh nahin kar paayega he wont be able to do it Now theyve seen it for themselves says Sharma Echoing the sentiment Amrute adds that once a couple gets divorced people tend to look down on them and your social circle shrinks to prevent the awkwardnessCreating a lasting bondSharmas daughters and Amrutes son love being outdoors Sharma takes his kids to the beach park as well as for kiddie events across the city We love going on holidays too even if theyre to nearby places like Mahabaleshwar or DamanAmrute and his son Aryan spend weekends at their farmhouse in Yeoor Hills and head to the cinema or the mall on other days We also spent Christmas in Goa last year which was a lot of fun A few years ago I took him with me on a work trip to the US and we visited a lot of places when I had some downtime he sharesBoth men recently discovered and joined iSingleParent a Facebook community that organises meetups and holidays for single mums and dads and their kidsAmrute says that when not at school his son would end up spending time playing with a smartphone We live in a standalone house so there arent any kids around for him to play with But he loves technology and scored full marks in Robotics He also enjoys beatboxing and recently started trying out parkour And now thanks to the group he looks forward to bonding with the other kids who come for the meetups he says