Open letter to my father

Like every father is to their child, you are a lot more than just a father — hero , mentor , friend and coach.

There are principles in life I live by each day, which were either directly inherited from you or indirectly taught by you. Today, I wanted to share what I learnt from you

• Any job 99.9% done is incomplete
• How to draw parallels between real life and sports
• Consistency and repeatability - I remember when I came to you with a perfect GPA semester results and you asked me what my plan was for the next semester. The question was more — do you wish to be Joginder Sharma or Rahul Dravid
• In a world where every thing is categorized as black or white, you taught me that there’s exists a gray area and the power of benefit of doubt where a single isolated event can’t be used to judge any person
• Your numerous philanthropic activities have set a high benchmark. They also taught me the importance of giving while being grateful for what we have. A lot of these activities also made me humble.
• You pushed me out of my comfort zone a number of times and taught me that real learning lies outside the comfort zone
• Learning is eternal — you still enroll in online classes to learn new things

Like a lot of people in life, I made my share of mistakes so far ,sometimes costly ones. You have approached those moments as opportunities to teach me lessons about life.

I look forward to many more Cricket matches with you, lots of beer, chai time and long walks.

As I embark on my journey of fatherhood, I hope to pass on these principles to my daughter

Happy Father’s Day dad