You will always be my first and most favorite nephew

My Nephew Talha turned 13 this July 28th. This was one of few letters that I have written in my life.... Hope it has the desired effect and impact……..

Talha & tabiba

( This letter is written for his birthday, but i am posting it now)
Dear Talha

Many Many Happy returns of the day!!!

I have been thinking of uploading this letter for you for a long time but thought I would send it now since you are now entering the most important period of your life.
To observe you growing from a small baby to the intelligent boy that you are has been a very satisfying experience. It fills me with great joy that you are now a person who knows what he likes and wants to do and goes about doing it in your own way. You have now a mind of your own and it is very nice to see that you are taking decisions for yourself.
I just wanted to let you know how lucky you are!!! Through the hard work of your father you are in a position where there are a lot of resources that will help you do whatever you choose to do in life and follow whatever dreams that you dream for yourself.

But it is very important to DREAM, to THINK, to UNDERSTAND, to KNOW and to DO ….

The world is changing around you and changing very fast. You need to understand that time that you have now in these years ahead of you are very very special and precious.I also enjoy watching TV r playing games but I do not want it to be the only thing you do. Look around you …there is so much to learn (apart from the studies that you do). You have access to the internet...Learn to use it…there is so much knowledge you can gain. If you still think that watching a lot of TV or playing games is important to you then I would request you to watch some interesting channels that are present in it like Discovery, Nat GEO, and Animal Planet.

I urge you to ASK and you will know each person and thing around you is more interesting than you thought it was.

Please Ask questions and DO things, experience LIFE …..There are so many resources you have at your disposal that are just waiting for you

§  Ask your father about his business, the world or anything? How certain things work? He has so much knowledge inside him

§  Read the newspaper every day (a little to start with). Ask your father/mother about things/words that you do not understand

§  Send me an email ( you will have to learn how to operate an email account for that first) and see how you can communicate with people so nicely and easily

§  Go with your mother to the market and see how she shops or bargains for vegetables

§  Sit with your Aunty in the kitchen and see how she cooks dinner one day

§  Read books. It’s very important. No matter what kind of book it is. The habit of reading is important.

Then life will not be BORING without TV. The TV is also known as an IDIOT BOX because that it what it turns people into……Nothing that I said above will come easily, you will have to change, and you will have to take the effort but believe me you will feel real good.If you are looking for inspiration there is no need to look any further than your Grandfather’s.

Your both Grandfather’s, were two of the most intelligent person that I ever met in my life.

What is great about those men is that they did so much with so little. They achieved whatever they could (everything around you) almost without any formal education, resources, and backing (i.e. a situation exactly opposite to you).

Specially your maternal grandfather He had a great curiosity for the things around him and would absorb all knowledge about it by either doing it himself or asking people about it. The amount of work that he did and the lives he touched are indeed amazing.

I would request you my dear Choto himu to take lessons from their life.

What I said above is not easy...but I am sure that you can do it

I do not wish to put pressure on you. It is just that I feel compelled to bring these things to your notice else I will feel that I have not done my duty. Always remember that life is a journey. Everything that has a beginning must have an end. Try to enjoy the path between the two.Dream big and never say you cannot do something.
Da Vinci once said, “If someone tells you that you cannot paint, then by all means paint.”
Always believe in yourself and understand that you will fail. It does not matter that you fail, it only matters that you get up. Thomas Edison tried 1,000 times and failed before he finally created the light bulb.
Life is not about anything other than living it. Keep you eyes, heart and mind open to it. Live your life for the dash.
The dash is that little mark on a tombstone that is set right between the date of birth and the date of death. Actually, it is hyphen, but it’s a dash to me.
It is the only part of a tombstone that has any significance.
When you are old enough, you may have more questions, and I will be there. I will always be there.

Apart from all of the above …..Please do have a great time on your birthday, cut a nice cake and SMILE for the photos

You will always be my first and most favorite nephew. Many Many happy returns of this day to you!!!