Sorryyy Clementine,

I know it’s been too long since my last letter but you’ve always been in my thoughts dear (and I know you know that). And keeping my promise here’s one account from my childhood that had a significant impact on me.

As a kid of probably similar age as yours, whenever Maa used to tell me something that I already knew (or I thought I knew), I used to get annoyed. I would not pay attention and behave badly, making noises to stop her from speaking. One day, Maa shut me up, forever, not with anger, but a story. She told me:

“Once upon a time, there was a famous guitar teacher in a town. He used to charge 100 dollars per hour for teaching, but people still kept coming to him, even from distant places. One day, a young boy came to this teacher and told him, ‘I already know quite a bit of guitar and need your help to learn just a few advanced skills. How much fees do I need to pay?’ To the boy’s surprise, the teacher told him the fees as 300 dollars. Angered, the boy asked him for the rationale behind it. To this, the teacher replied, ‘I am still charging you 100 bucks per hour for the lesson but need additional 200 bucks to make you unlearn what you already know.’”

Maa followed with the explanation that “as long as you feel that you already know everything, you can never learn new things.” This was a revelation to the young me, and the point stuck with me.

Even though at times I still act like a know-it-all, this story helps me quickly switch to my curious student mode. Thanks for this Maa, you have my heart.

And now some good news for you! I’ll be back home with all of you in just three months from now. Looking forwards to some awesome vacation time 😊

Love

Papa