Dear Clementine,

I’m writing this one to you but I’m not sure if it will be a great letter. Anyway, I know why I committed to sharing my childhood memories with you, so there’s no way I’m skipping it. Here it goes…

I must have been 5-7 years old (memory is faint). I remember Papa repeating a quote by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore sometimes:

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.

Around the same time, whenever I would complain about some difficult work, Maa used to tell me a quote that Indian freedom fighter Jawaharlal Nehru used to keep on his desk:

I can, I shall, I must.

These were some of the first quotes I was exposed to in life. In my own funny way, even I used to repeat them sometimes. While I did not think much about Tagore’s quote as a child, Nehru’s quote was stuck in my head, partly because I was close to Maa, partly because it was easy, and definitely because of roses.

Whenever I used to see a red rose, I could not stop thinking about Nehru’s quote. This was probably because Nehru was known for keeping a red rose in his coat’s front pocket, and my mind had associated a red rose with “I can, I shall, I must.” As I got older, I started developing my own thoughts about the meaning of life and work, but I’ve never succeeded in detaching Nehru’s quote from red roses. Regardless of that, these quotes were my source of light even in the darkest times, and I hope they guide you as well.

Also, as I’m writing this letter to you, I’m beginning to doubt if there is any true free will, because as I look back today, years later, I know that a lot of my views and the kind of literature I was inclined to read while growing up, were influenced by these quotes (and few more) that I heard frequently as a child. And even though I just wrote that “I started developing my own thoughts…” above, were they really mine?

Ah, this simply complex life never ceases to amaze me. And I know that I will never cease to amaze you Clementine, especially after writing so many bad letters. Hahaha, yeah it’s a talent 😉

Take care, my love

Papa