Letters From A Father To His Daughter - Jawaharlal Nehru

Letters ! Oops , snail mails...They bring back memories of yester days......... Soon letter writing would be listed as an antique art form but not yet. It doesn't matter whether we use email , snail mail or female as long as we communicate cogently. 


Coming back to letters, we cherish letters out of personal acumen and sometimes preserve them because of their historical importance. Nehru's letters to his daughter fall in the latter category. Nehru wrote these 30 letters, to his 10 year old daughter Indira , while he was in the British Raj jail. They are unique and different in subject matter and outlook. Through the letters , he strives to fill his absence and tries to arouse his daughter's curiosity on various subjects. The letters in the book form can be read as a history textbook- very simple and interesting. It talks about the origin of the earth , nature, history , civilizations , kings and the beginning of religion. Though personal and atheistic , these letters stir up the children to learn more about our past. Perhaps the book form should be included in the middle school curriculum.

My kids aged 10&12 , started the book with much excitement, stopped after the first letter. Can't blame them. Unlike Goosebumps , Famous Five , Hardy Boys , Secret Seven and Nancy Drew , Nehru's letters urge the kids to think and use their brain. Kids , this book is much more interesting than your history textbooks. This is the right time to read it , not at my age.