Things I Would Always Tell You

“Life happens when you are busy doing other things. Dear daughter, this letter is about a few things that I guess I shall always tell you. It is perhaps a letter written in a different mood altogether. Just hope that you are able to read it in the same light that it was written in”.

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Dear Riddhie,

 

A couple of recent incidents prompted me to write this letter to you. I am not sure how old would you be when you read this and if I shall be around to help you understand most of these things. I can just hope that you are mature enough and acquire enough vision to see through the matrix to grasp most of what life is about, as it happens and if you have grasped the rules well enough to win the game.

I am all of 31 years, 7 months and about 3 weeks old as I key this in and you are, well far too young to even recognize me as yet. For the entire day today, I have been trying to get your attention to get you to look at me and smile and I have done so without any success so far.

Last week, right after we were done with the festivities of your uncle’s wedding, one of my friends called me up to inform about the demise of another friend. The guy who passed away was a colleague at a previous organization and someone who I remember as a fun loving and happy go lucky kind of a person. He is survived by his wife and a daughter who is barely 8 months of age. His death came across as a thumping jolt reminding me again of the uncertainty of life.

I am led to question myself what if something similar happens to me before you actually get to know who I am and what you mean to me. Sigh.. I guess, this is for the time to tell and your destiny and my fate to determine. However, before that happens, I want you to know a few things. These are the points I would expect you to learn on your own as well by making your own mistakes. However, as a parent, it is both my responsibility and a duty to give you all I can, so dear angel here are a few points I would want you to always keep in mind:

1. Live your life on your own terms. It is your life and at the end of the day and you are responsible for it. If you get hurt, it is you and only you who would feel the pain and no one else. People are born alone and they go alone and it is thus rightful that they are allowed to live as they want. But remember, with freedom comes responsibility and if you make your own rules you shall have no one else to blame but yourself so, think twice before you leap into something and then do it with conviction and no regrets.

2. Remember there is no such thing as a failure. People who fail are the ones who give up before winning. You can give yourself multiple chances at an objective, but do not forget that every attempt comes with a cost and very often the raised cost to an end reduces the value of the final objective.

3. Read and then read some more. All that I can teach you or that you shall ever learn will only yield dividends if you have ample information to base it upon. Personally, I recommend you to follow Ayn Rand if you can. The Fountainhead is one of my all time favorites. I have a copy and if it doesn’t get lost in years to come, you can find it in the bookshelf. Read it some time and think about Howard Roark for a while and come and tell me how you find it.

4. As you grow up, you shall know and encounter several temptations. It is not bad to indulge, however it is imperative you understand and know your limits. By the time you read this, I would have probably told you a thousand times that you are my princess. Try and keep the dignity of all the love we shower upon you.

5. Listen to your heart. It is often the best advise that one can get. If you are not convinced about something, probably it is not the right thing to do.

6. Do not be afraid to stand tall and own up your fault. If you are standing upright, don’t worry if your shadow looks crooked.

7. Till the time I am around you, I shall gladly be the ear and shoulder you ever need. I shall listen to you whenever you want me to and most likely I shall give you enough courage to speak to me about anything and everything under the sun. If there is anything that you can not speak to me about, you should probably refrain from doing it.

8. Apart from my letters to you and other things that I keep writing, I shall probably leave you dozens of books, comics, hundreds of movies and perhaps a thousand or more pictures. Look through the pattern and perhaps you shall find something of interest in each of these articles. Try and find things that excite you and you feel passionate about. Follow your interests keenly and learn from life as and when you can.

9. Choose your company wisely. You would come across people who would want to befriend you for their own interest. Here’s a talisman that can help you – just avoid people who disrespect their parents. If there exists a person who can not show respect to the people who love him unconditionally, he/she can not possibly be honest with you.

10. And finally, this is the standard advise that perhaps you would also pass on to your children as well – Don’t do drugs, don’t party till late or early hours of the morning, don’t have boyfriends or wear clothes that I don’t approve of, don’t get married or run away with someone before you are sure of next 5 years of your career and have a steady source of income, always have an amount equal to 6 months of your monthly expenses in your bank account, DO have a career and don’t talk back when I am scolding you.

Hmm…I hope that you could gather and understand a few things that I have been trying to tell you here. Also, I guess it is enough preaching for the day and hence would close this letter now with a cherished moment of my life..

Love,

Dad.