Wear Your Attitude

No legacy is so rich as honesty ~ William Shakespeare

H. R. Bachchan

Dear Dadu,

Thank you very much for writing us a letter. I read it twice. Second time I read it between the lines. I thought you would pour the wisdom of the world in it. I am overwhelmed by your letter, but, I am disappointed to read it. It seems you have written it as part of a media campaign to boost your image. Frankly speaking, you have used us for your own publicity. Well, this is nothing new. You have been doing it in the past with others.

The letter had no human touch, if you know exactly what I mean. In the beginning, you have mentioned the surnames. Honestly, we are not carried away by that. I have read Madhushala and I appreciate it as one of the best poems. World of intellectuals is different from the world of glamour. Thank you very much for reminding the legacy, but that will not help us in search of identity. It will create hurdles that we have to overcome. Remember, who knows the father of H. R. Bachchan and his father?  The lineage must start afresh from each generation.

I laughed when I read your advice about the skirt. It is very chauvinistic to talk about our clothes. Do you ever talk about male clothing? This of course does not define our character, but tells us a lot about the person who brings it up. Dadu, this is simple common sense. We will wear a bikini in the swimming pool and nightgown while going to sleep. Character is something different. Wonder if you know how it is defined? Let me tell you. When you are ready to sacrifice some immediate pleasure for achieving some remote gain, then you are a person of character.

So far as choosing friends are concerned, I would like you or some elders to advise me. We have been raised in over protected environment, so we are not aware of the evil world. When you are beautiful or rich lot of people, want to take advantage of it. They are clever in the art of deception. It is the duty of elders to save us from them. I won't mind if granny told me to avoid certain friend.

I would have appreciated if you told us about how to handle our failures?  You had had enough of them. What did you learn from your failure? How you struggled to succeed? Who helped to face the crisis? I mean, not what the world knows, but something meaningful that was kept hidden from the world.

One more thing, I don't know whether I should raise this issue. What do you think of the extra marital issue?  I know this is a very sensitive issue and I am not mature enough to talk about it, but one thing is very sure, I respect the fidelity in a relationship.

In the last, I would like to propose you to read the essay of Margaret Atwood "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" and let me know what you think of it.

Love you.

Yours etc.

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©  Vipin Behari Goyal