Narayana Murthy's viral letter to his daughter is every parenting cliche

The highlights if this letter is that he mentions both the kids, however, I wish he had shared more practical tips and ALSO wrote a similar letter to his son.

Just as I was done with being disappointed with Chanda Kochhar's letter to her daughter, Narayana Murthy writes a letter to her daughter. The letter contains all the necessary emotions to tug every parent's and child's heart. And that's about it. The letter speaks at length about all the sacrifices and adjustments that Narayana Murthy and his wife, writer and social worker, Sudha Murthy, had to make as young parents. Keeping your baby in a different city because you need to focus on building your career is tough. Only the idea of looking at the bigger picture and building a better future is what keeps parents in such a situation going. After all, greatness comes with its share of sacrifices.

Parenting, however, is not as much about the momentous decisions as it is about the small sacrifices many parents make every day. Giving up a high-paying job and financial independence to become a stay-at-home parent. Taking a job overseas and meeting your kids once a year. Balancing work and home as a working parent and coming home late to sleeping babies. There's no time to play, bedtime stories or to form any sort of bedtime routine.

Most parents do that, and we appreciate each other for it. It's as simple and as great as that. Nobody's competing for tragedies here, but this isn't something I would expect in a letter from Narayana Murthy. Especially in a letter that had the potential of going viral. Tell me about how, despite the distance and long separation, did you bond with your daughter. Don't tell me about the boundaries -- no TV, no car, no luxuries. Tell me about a tradition that you had with your kids, something that you all as a family looked forward to.

Parenting is more about legwork than nobility

From people like Narayana Murthy, who have the power to inspire, we need practical tips on how to make parenting work, without the guilt that's a part of the salary package. Tell me how to feel confident and pat myself on the back for keeping my baby safe, secure and well-fed (even if I do give in at times and let her have some screen time). Tell me how to accept my slips that I am bound to make as a first or second-time parent.

And tell me, why aren't the sons receiving any letters? The optimistic in me wants to feel that it is so because women shoulder the major responsibility of a family. On the other hand, the feminist in me who pays half the bills and takes care of the domestic expenses as much as the father of my baby, I would appreciate if someone imparted some wise tit-bits to the men too.

I appreciate that Narayana advises his daughter to take care of the planet. A much-needed advice that needs to be passed on to everyone. Can we have more such real advises, please? There isn't anything wrong with expressing your feelings with your daughters, but when it is a public letter, I expect it to be more.

Image source: Shutterstock

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