A Letter From A Father To His Little Son

Dear Pranav,
It’s been 20 months since you set foot in the world. When i held you for the first time in my arms at the hospital, your tiny hands were twitching and your eyes were shut tight. Your clenched fist reminded me of a science lesson that said to get an idea about the size of your heart, you should clench your fist. I could imagine the little heart throbbing inside you. The eternal miracle of birth. When it was my turn to witness it, i cried.

Before i married your mother, i used to debate one question endlessly with my friend. Which is, “Is it really worth bringing another life into this world?” Especially when terror has become an ugly leitmotif in the canvas of our lives?

When i switched on the TV that Wednesday night, the question of whether i was right in bringing you into this world haunted me again.

This is my attempt at an answer. Call it catharsis.

I feel there are two ways to raise you. One is to wean you on cynicism. Where you’ll erect a sky-high wall in your mind and live your life pouring scorn on everything you see. Which is one way of insulating yourself from fear... A kind of indifferent machismo.

The other way is to prepare you to live in this world. I can’t imagine the world for you, son. But i can certainly show you the way to live in an uncertain world. Make a pact with yourself. Understand the following early on.

Life is precious. And equally fragile. So every day is a gift. Get up early once in a while just to watch the sun rise. Stare at it intently and burn it in your memory. Be aware of every passing second. Look around you. There’s a thin stalk of plant finding its place under the sun in a crevice on the wall of our apartment.

Appreciate mother’s cooking. Praise it to heavens... Make it a habit to eat together as a family. No, make it a rule. Fall in love with books. Words will transport you to worlds far away. It will also keep you informed and prepared.

Follow your heart. The mind can waver but the heart seldom does. Respect your conscience. It’s like a post-it note from God.

When you grow up, seek a job you love. As you enter the world of careers and cocktails, you’ll get sucked into a vortex called rat race. Don’t be overwhelmed. We’re all human. But have the courage to step out of it. Nothing will be lost. Some illusions will shatter. Good riddance.

Money. It’s important. But it has its place. Don’t make the mistake of putting it right on top.

Find your love. Hold it dearly. Be a good husband. A patient father. Give your children space to make their mistakes. But hold them when they fall.

Speak up when you have to. Like this occasion. Whether we like it or not, we’re living in a democracy. Sure it has its pitfalls. But don’t forget the positives too. The real fight in a democracy is between remembering and forgetting. Go and vote. It’s your chance to give shape to the kind of society you want to live in.

Be alert. But try not to live in a state of fear.

It you were to get caught in a situation similar to what happened and should we lose you, then you will have left us with enough lovely memories for the remaining years. That will only happen if you start living every day like it is the last day of your life. Though it can never compensate your loss, at least we’ll find strength in your love for life. Don’t have regrets. They defeat the very purpose of life. Immersed as i am in work most of the time, this letter is also a wake-up call for me.

Love, Dad

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

This is a very famous poem by Robert Frost and one I love the most.

Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here,
To watch his woods fill up with snow.


My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near,
Between the woods and frozen lake,
The darkest evening of the year.


He gives his harness bells a shake,
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep,
Of easy wind and downy flake.


The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

No knowledge without college

It was on 9^th October I got a mail that I have been short-listed for Microsoft Student Partner(MSP) program by Microsoft. I prepared little bit for MSP test which was to be conducted by Microsoft on 19^th of October. The test was basically of C-programming, analytical ability and knowledge of computers.

I reached Bangalore on 18^th October in the night and stayed there in a hotel. The next morning we had the session by Microsoft and it was among some of the best I have attended. We had the Mr. Anil W. , recruitment head of Microsoft India. He came to hall 15 minutes before the presentation was to start. As soon as he came he asked us “ How many of you are Hostellers?” We were wondering the reason of his to ask such a question. Next after getting the answer for first question he asked “How many of you are their in college sports team”? For this question he did not get a very good response ( but not bad even). Next question of his appeared quite logical to us was Why he asked first two question? After some wild and incorrect guesses by some of the students he told the answer. For first question he quoted a statement of General Electronics(GE) CEO “ When I am recruiting people and I have two person with equal qualification I will choose the person who have been hosteller”. The reason behind this he stated that a person who have stayed in hostel have good adjusting capability. He meets a diverse kind of people, stays and learns to adjust with them. Such a person has good adjusting ability and more chances of being successful as a team player. He even gave a good example from his college life. He told during his college he had some NRI friends. Whenever their parents use to come they used to bring exotic soaps with them. They generally used lifeboy because it never used to end despite of how much you use it and the way you use it. It could be used for bathing, washing clothes and some other not worth mentioning uses. If their parents used to come in the morning, give them the gifts and use to go to some interesting place for visit, by the evening they used to arrive in the evening everything used to get finished. People who never used to take baths for weeks would then take a bath and even three times a day. This is where the hostel life comes and holds the most interesting part. We learn to adjust with different kind of people, work more efficiently as teams, enjoy and share things. That why they preferred people who have been hosteller.

For next question he told that their are many incidents of suicide by many young people. Why is it so? Because these people cannot accept defeat that much easily as other people can. While playing sport the best thing we develop is the ability to accept defeat and also to work in a team. It is among some of the best things to be learned in life.

Later on he told us different things in his college life. He told us the benefits of participating in different events and tech fests of college. When we participate in college tech fest we do actually develop our organising skills. He told in his time, they had a difficult time to get things work from Carpenter and other staff of college who is not at all interested in working for you at free of cost. They used to have tough time with those people and even the most interesting one. The thing we learn in college is “learn and share, share and learn”.

After that we had our test. I qualified the written test which was much simple and had GD as the next round. Before GD we had the chance of meeting and discussing with other MSPs and had lot of fun. We discussed a lot of things with them and learnt a lot. In GD, the topic I got was “Do social networking sites actually help in developing social skills” . I don't know how many times I read the topic before speaking but did not speak the right points over there. As soon as the GD got over I got some really good points in my mind. But every thing got over by then. Anyway it will work as a motivating source for me to do more better in future. It is generally a better idea to think big and start small.