Page 109 - #letter to son

#SangamNiti ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Here’s also recalling my friends from youth, Sri Narayan, Shivendra,
Arvind Mohan, Manish, Pradeep, Amit, Deepak, Rumil, Anshul, Ved,
Rajkumar, Sanjay… without whom my childhood would have been so
much incomplete.

Of course, a full-hearted thanks to my wife, Smt. Amrita Gupta. I have
no qualms in saying that I couldn’t have achieved anything without her.
She waited while I journeyed. She had the grace, trust, confidence and
love in letting me chase my dreams, while she stood by me strongly,
taking care of the family and bringing up our son.

To our son then, Tanishq, who we lovingly call Shiv. Shiv is more than
a son to me; he is a young friend who I love to talk to. He keeps me
energised by his unique perspective to situations around him. We
talk about life experiences, life journey of family members, politics,
business, religion, almost everything under the sun. And I’m so proud
of his generation that is sharp, quick and sensitive. Only recently, he
mesmerised me with his precise logic of how he wants to get involved
in a ‘family’ restaurant – he wants a large play area for the kids to enjoy,
while the parents enjoyed their meal in relaxing massage chairs. Also, he
was thoughtful enough to include both vegetarian and non-vegetarian
cuisine as he did not want to differentiate people on the basis of their
food choices. I’m proud that he considers racial bias, ethic prejudice and
all other such malaise with disdain. They chain humanity and I’m very
happy with his thinking. I dedicate this book to Shiv and to all the sons
and daughters of the world.

I am also indebted to Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh, fondly called
Nanaji, an iconic social reformer and thinker, who was posthumously
conferred with the Bharat Ratna. I was fortunate to work with him,
and his focus on people empowerment, education and skill-building
has left an indelible impression on me. Nanaji was the Founder and
the first Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya
Vishwavidhyalay, Chitrakoot, Satna (Madhya Pradesh).

In no particular order, I also wish to deeply thank my teachers, particularly
Shri Sri Niwas Tiwari ji without whom my admission into Chitrakoot Inter
College would’ve been in the doldrums and Shri Manas Pandey ji for his
invaluable coaching in debate competitions – he indeed prepared me for life.

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