Page 108 - #letter to son

Acknowledgements
Nothing has made me feel quite so indebted as the writing of this book.
There’s no end to my gratitude to my family, friends, acquaintances and
well-wishers. An empathetic thanks to all of them.

I specially recall my father, Shri Salik Ram Gupta, my babuji - without
his early inspiration, there would be no book, no author, nothing. He
went beyond being my biological father – he was a guru who enriched
my life with lessons that he practiced and I emulated. His coaching
on commitment to the workplace and work, on business partnerships
founded on fairness and equality, on relationships anchored on others
before self and on honesty and self-sufficiency is something that will
stay with me forever.

I also deeply acknowledge the contributions of my mother, Smt. Sukhiya
Devi. Her precocious wisdom as a businesswoman and an agriculturist
remains deeply rooted with me. She was caring, empathetic and always
emphasised on education. Her bracing, energising enthusiasm is
something that I’ll forever miss.

As I go back to my early days, a carousel of faces cross my memory. Shri
Laxmi Prasad Gupta, or phupha ji, who was that one person without
whom my childhood would’ve been incomplete, thanks to his pocket
that we always had access to. A heartfelt thanks also to my elder brother,
Shri Kalloo Ram Gupta, who was a banker par excellence. He was my
guardian and guide and his wise and thoughtful counsel always came as
a breath of fresh air in the humdrum of life. He truly drilled into me the
value of the clock – and often said that trials cannot be fully complete
without fire. There was much wisdom when he said there could be no
gain without pain. Coming from a mofussil background, bade bhaiyya
was also my coach in English. A tribute to him would be incomplete if
I didn’t mention that he also taught me to give back. He always used to
say that life is incomplete if it is not spent for others.

I must also commend the efforts of Smt. Padma Gupta, bhabhi ji, who
was a source of inspiration, always telling me to push hard if I wanted
to achieve my goals. A special mention of Smt. Tulsha Gupta and Smt.
Poonam Gupta, my beloved sisters who were my childhood companions
and my support system.

100