Leaflets From My Life - My Father's First Letter On Life & Lotus Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

My dear father,
Who was determined to educate me well,
To the best of his ability.
Remained throughout my life,
A Guardian Angel!

I was sixteen then,
I was to travel with my Dad from Cochin to Coimbatore
To graduate in English Literature.
But fate intervened.
On our way, we stopped in Palakkad, my native town,
To meet my Grandparents.

I was the eldest Grandchild in our family.
When they saw me, they were so overcome with emotion
And so much of love, that they refused to let me go!
My Grandparents lived in an old palatial house
With so many trees, fruits, flowers, roots and creepers.
Thus, my father left me in the care of my Grandparent's
After admitting me into a college in the same town.

As I stepped into the long corridors of
Mercy College in Kerala,
I had no idea of where I was heading towards.
But I was sure of one thing
That I was going to enjoy my new freedom,
To explore nature and its new environment,
To make a lot of new friends,
To learn and grow up into a new young lady.

My father missed my presence in the house.
So, he began to write letters to me.
Every month, he wrote a letter with a story.
The stories always had a message and a philosophy.
I still remember his first letter
And the words in the letter made a huge impact on my mind.
The gist of the letter was that I should tread the path of life,
Very carefully, with awareness, and conduct myself so well
That I should become an example to others around me.

My father wrote:
I should aspire to become like a lotus.
The beautiful lotus stands on muddy waters,
Yet, remains so pure and perfect;
Untouched, untainted, uncluttered and unhampered.
The pink petals are ever fresh without a spot of dirt on it.
Like the lotus, I should focus only on my goal,
Never to be swayed by temptations,
Never to be distracted from my studies,
To remain like a jewel in the lotus that never lets off its lustre.