LETTER TO A DAUGHTER
Dr. Gangadhar Sahoo
Ex- Dean, IMS & SUM Hospital, Bhubaneswar
Ex- Pro VC S “O”A University, Bhubaneswar
President, ISOPARB
God blessed me with a precious girl child named A.P.TAPASWINI (Anandadayinee Punyatoya Tapaswini). This name had come to my mind when I was young and unmarried, pursuing my engineering course. No male child’s name had ever come to my imagination even after marriage, also till today. To be honest, I feel proud to be the father of such a brilliant and rarest girl.
You are everything to me. I supported you in the past. I am always with you today;I will be always with you in every moment of your tomorrow. I love you as my heart and soul.I consider your feelings equal to mine. You are much more capable than you give yourself credit for. I am not only your father, also a close friend, a Guru, a true lover and everything to you all the times. Anybody will be lucky enough to be your friend. You are sweet, innocent, beautiful, kind-hearted, helping, trustworthy and an amazing person. You are a blessed child in form of a pure soul. Everything will be good for you and you are capable of doing whatever you want to. Your name itself is the certificate of your personality and character.
You are a brilliant science student with all the arts within you with extra-ordinary qualities. You are jack of all trades and can be master in any field you wish to be. You have proved your good qualities in the field of brilliancy, leadership, painting, music, dance, writing, sports and games, etc. You have proved yourself in the field of your choice as a caring doctor. You are an inspiration to your cousins of both paternal as well as maternal families. The seniors of both the families and the villagers are also proud of you for your dedication towards them in context of their health issues. You are also praiseworthy of your teachers for your brilliancy and humility. I think God rarely gives human beings the qualities you have.
I thank God for giving me the best gift of my life. May the Almighty forever protect his valuable creation gifted to me in the form of a daughter. May all your dreams come true all the time and long live my child with the blessings of the Divine power.
Love you sweet darling.
YOURS AND ONLY YOURS,
BAA.
It was the letter shared by one of my student Tapaswini, a post graduate student in Pediatrics. In the caption it was written, "Sir, in my 30 years I have received this emotional letter from my father for the first time. I thought I should share it with you." I was elated at the same time surprised to get this letter. Then I became curious to know about her father and mother. To my queries she replied.
It's my good fortune that I am answering my Guru's question.
My father's name is Purna Chandra which means full moon.
My mother's name is Bhanumati which means shinning like the Sun.
My father is not so good at expressing his emotions verbally so I asked him about his feelings for me. Hence he wrote and mailed me.
Actually sir, he is the topper of his school, he is the master of maths and physics. He is a beautiful singer, plays tabla and harmonium as well. He is also a sports person. His handwriting is superb and he draws very well. He wrote the play 'phampa mathia ra Shabda' on which skit was performed at national level. He participated in plays. He is very great and knowledgeable. I am not even 50% of what he is. He is the best Guru I have met till date, he clarifies every concept with patience and without a single scolding. He has a very neutral and unique perception about everything. Actually I am blessed to have a father and Guru like him.
He was in engineering 2nd year and he read Tapaswini Kavya about life of goddess Sita at Rishi ashram. He loved the name Tapaswini. My grandpa's name was ANANDA, so my name is Anandadayinee (one who gives happiness to all). From his name PURNA came Punyatoya (pure and serene ghat of river Ganga). Since he is the eldest of all 4 brothers, my mother's name was kept Sita after marriage. The other name of Mata Sita was Tapaswini(an ascetic). So he framed my name long before his marriage. Then I asked her how could she be so free to share this invaluable piece of letter from her dearest friend to me ? Moreover how could she come so close to my circle both as a teacher and a human being? Then a humble answer came from her .
Sir I would be glad to answer your queries.
I have been your student when you used to teach OBG. At that time, the best part was you used to drink water from my bottle only.
As a student I was always inspired by the way you made complex topics easier to learn and your words were so much impactful that I didn't have to revise any topic you taught. Everything was remembered line by line as you dictated.
As a human being, I learnt from you the beauty of calmness and silence, the meaning of humility and how to try a soft answer in a tough situation. The way you were approachable, every student and member of this institute interacted with you without being fearful. We never felt the uneasiness and air of superiority around you sir.
During my PG period many times I went to your office for the issue of bonafide certificate but never met you. I met you only at all pediatric conferences while I sang songs for lamp lighting standing behind the stage and sir you were so humble to acknowledge my talent once even if I being a small PG student never expected that from the esteemed dean of our institute.
Conclusion:
After reading the letter of Tapaswini’ s father I felt as if today is a changed world without any gender discrimination. The daughter is already empowered before she is born. How fortunate Tapaswini is! I feel myself honored to be her teacher. I am proud of my student. I pray God let every father be blessed with a daughter like Tapaswini and every daughter should have a father like Sj. Purna Chandra. Let the daughter father relationship be immortal.
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