A great source of inspiration! Salute to mom and dad.
Updated: May 17, 2020
My inspiration to achieve something over and beyond my regular day job arises from growing up in an environment of highly impressive accomplishments. Both my parents received doctorate degrees and are successful authors. A few days ago, I asked dad Prof. V. R. Jagannathan, to share some cover pictures of his books. In a string of Whatsapp messages, he started with sharing some covers in a series of 48 school textbooks, then went to his dictionaries, a novel, books on general knowledge, Hindi grammar and finally some linguistic books. His last line in the message was "Finished...and that takes the number to 100+". I was awestruck! My mom is a highly respected retired university librarian and academician. She has compiled/edited several books. She completed her second masters degree at the age of 55. Now that is dedication! I spent most of my summer holidays in mom's library surrounded by books for hours. Both mom and dad have received international acclaims and have been invited to speak at seminars all around the globe. Salute to everything they accomplished. I am honored and lucky to have them as my parents.
I recently shared a post on FB related to a new English learning program that my father has created. At age 78 when most people prefer to relax in life, dad is super-charged to follow his passion. He is developing programs, teaching private classes, speaking at seminars, and much more. No matter how much you try, it is hard to match his energy. They have traveled to exotic places in the last few years, most notably Turkey, Bhutan, Andaman, China, Ladakh, and many others. He was the oldest among a small group of visitors who managed to climb up to the Tiger's Nest temple in Bhutan. The climb entails around 1000 steps, and is no facile task even for young people. In Ladakh, mom and dad were the oldest to travel to the Khardung pass at an height of 18,380 ft. Dad also rode a scooter on the sand.
When I mentioned to them about my book, they shared the happiness and pride in the accomplishment. It gave me utmost satisfaction that I was able to accomplish something that I had dreamed of as a kid, having been surrounded by books at home and the library. Finally, we all are proud to see my name on the cover of a book!
