Dear Ma,

Today is the first Guru Purnima without you. It’s hard, it’s tough and immensely painful. For all these years, you have always been my guru and things you taught are innumerable and the list below is not even close to immense learning you gave me, still some of the gems you have made me grow with are –

• From giving me a name to giving me the sense that I should make you proud of it

• From my first word to my first step

• From the first scribble to the first perfect cursive

• From the first poorly framed sentence to the first confident articulation

• From the first self made “something” from imagination to the first perfect Pulao

• From the first bad purchase to the first perfect fit

• From the understanding that it is good to care for others to the reasoning behind the importance of self care

• From the freedom by letting go of things that hurt to holding on to the lessons learnt from that

• From understanding the value of money to the knowledge that not everything has a price

• From the power you get at laughing at yourself to the love you gather by not laughing at others

• From sharing other’s pain to not inflicting pain to others

• From the importance of dressing well to standing tall even in simple attire

• From sharing food with others to not being greedy.

• From being inquisitive about everything to the sense of what & when not to ask….

And so many things more. My every breath, my every strand of hair, my sinews, my every drop of blood, my every ability, my success, my life is dedicated and indebted to you Ma. You have always taught me something, sometimes knowingly sometimes unknowingly, sometimes in full consciousness and even in your last moments when you were not… I won’t belittle you with thanks. The least I can and I will do is share the gems of your love and knowledge with others.

To my first and my life long Guru… Please guide me always.

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