8. Summary of the lesson "A Birthday Letter"

The lesson “A Birthday Letter” was written by Jawaharlal Nehru. He wrote a letter to his daughter, Indira from the Central prison on October 26, 1930. In the letter, he mentioned that Indira was in the habit of receiving gifts on her birthdays. But he couldn’t send any materialistic gifts on her birthday. His gifts were mental or spiritual. He said that he did not like giving sermons to others. He thinks that while having a conversation with each other, a piece of truth emerges from it. He recalled her fascination with a historical character called Joan of Arc. Nehru then highlighted the importance of history that could make men and women heroic in their lives. Nehru stands on the view that history even helps simple, ordinary people to become heroes. He said that the magic words of Bapuji have stolen the hearts of millions of Indians. Bapuji had inspired his people by doing great deeds and honourable sacrifices in India. Nehru motivates his daughter by saying that under Bapuji's leadership, there was no place for secrecy or hiding. Nehru wants his daughter to be unafraid, serene, and unruffled. He tells her to make friends in the light and do nothing secretly. Nehru is quite confident that Indira will grow up into a brave soldier in India’s service.