SUB: Hearty congratulations Dr. Tharoor, kindly spare a few moments
Dear Dr. Tharoor,
Heartiest congratulations on being elected from Thiruvananthapuram. This is truly a remarkable moment in the history of India.
I am an undergraduate student from IIT Madras. I would like to just take a few minutes of your time and voice my thoughts to you, for I believe that you truly represent the changing times that I am part of. I realise you'd be very busy and will try to keep it to the point.
The amazing run of the sensex today is a true testimony of the country's expectations from this new government. After decades of coalition politics, which takes one step forward and two back, we finally seem to have broken the shackles. For an uber-optimistic youngster like me, this is a moment of reckoning. I have always, in the past 22 years of my life, believed that Indian policymakers have the capacity to deliver good corruption-free governance and a poverty-free society. But, somehow somewhere we seem to get lost on this path.
But Dr. Tharoor, you represent the new dawn. You and your being elected as an MP is the tipping point of our nation's growth. It seems surreal that someone of your calibre, charisma and capability is 'elected ' in India. But I have firm belief after Saturday's result that this surreality is the new reality in India. My knowledge about you is purely through popular literature and you are one of the finest that India has to offer. You give me a hope that you will finally get India to realise its true potential. While you may not be able to make significant impacts on the lives of the countrymen, but please trust me if I tell you today that the youngsters of the country look upto people like you. Your case gives us hope and lights a fire in us to join the otherwise-cynical and forgotten case of nation-building.
Sir, kindly do not misunderstand my letter to you. A 22-year-old college kid is no comparison to your stature and achievements. BUT, treat me like a young Indian citizen who has finally found a representative who truly represents him and to whom he can dare to pen his thoughts down. Sir, you have an enormous responsibility towards the youth of the country. You are our last straw of hope as a change-maker. If you too falter and follow the scores who've been in your position earlier, India will never ever be able to recoup. Please remember every moment that 40 crore of us are looking upto you as a role model to emulate.
That said, I wish you a very enjoyable time over the next five years. Hearty hearty congratulations again.
Thanks for reading through the long mail, I thank you for your time.
With warm regards,
Vikas Shenoy
Shashi Tharoor's reply (on 21st May):
Dear Dr. Tharoor,
Heartiest congratulations on being elected from Thiruvananthapuram. This is truly a remarkable moment in the history of India.
I am an undergraduate student from IIT Madras. I would like to just take a few minutes of your time and voice my thoughts to you, for I believe that you truly represent the changing times that I am part of. I realise you'd be very busy and will try to keep it to the point.
The amazing run of the sensex today is a true testimony of the country's expectations from this new government. After decades of coalition politics, which takes one step forward and two back, we finally seem to have broken the shackles. For an uber-optimistic youngster like me, this is a moment of reckoning. I have always, in the past 22 years of my life, believed that Indian policymakers have the capacity to deliver good corruption-free governance and a poverty-free society. But, somehow somewhere we seem to get lost on this path.
But Dr. Tharoor, you represent the new dawn. You and your being elected as an MP is the tipping point of our nation's growth. It seems surreal that someone of your calibre, charisma and capability is 'elected ' in India. But I have firm belief after Saturday's result that this surreality is the new reality in India. My knowledge about you is purely through popular literature and you are one of the finest that India has to offer. You give me a hope that you will finally get India to realise its true potential. While you may not be able to make significant impacts on the lives of the countrymen, but please trust me if I tell you today that the youngsters of the country look upto people like you. Your case gives us hope and lights a fire in us to join the otherwise-cynical and forgotten case of nation-building.
Sir, kindly do not misunderstand my letter to you. A 22-year-old college kid is no comparison to your stature and achievements. BUT, treat me like a young Indian citizen who has finally found a representative who truly represents him and to whom he can dare to pen his thoughts down. Sir, you have an enormous responsibility towards the youth of the country. You are our last straw of hope as a change-maker. If you too falter and follow the scores who've been in your position earlier, India will never ever be able to recoup. Please remember every moment that 40 crore of us are looking upto you as a role model to emulate.
That said, I wish you a very enjoyable time over the next five years. Hearty hearty congratulations again.
Thanks for reading through the long mail, I thank you for your time.
With warm regards,
Vikas Shenoy
Shashi Tharoor's reply (on 21st May):
Thank you for your support. I am truly humbled by the extraordinary level of trust the voters of Thiruvananthapuram have placed in me, and I am conscious that now is when the real work begins...
With gratitude for your good wishes and support, and hoping it will continue to sustain me over the next five years!
Shashi Tharoor
PS: I had mailed Dr. Tharoor on Monday, the 18th of May and he replied in three days time. That is pretty good response, considering the fact that his inbox would be at the peak of its activity now.
While I am elated that he chose to reply, I am disappointed by the standard copy-paste reply. But nonetheless, one step at a time - our MPs are now accessible. That's a first.
PS2: I am not personally in favour of publicising a conversation between two individuals, but I thought posting his reply would just let the readers know of the changing reality. Cheers to a new India.
12 comments:
Good one :) Liked it a lot...
well put :)
Awesome letter man. Just out of curiousity, how long does it take you to write such a letter??
Bheja ki nahi? Reply aaye to bataana.
@ Kido, Elithra - Thanks. Comments appreciated.
@ Sumedh - I wrote it in a fit. So it took me about 15 min to write it down and another 5-10 min to edit it for grammar/typos.
@ Amrit - Bheja. Aur reply bhi aaya. While I am elated that he replied, disappointed that it was a standard reply. Will post his reply soon.
Probably this (http://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1834540337) is why the reply is like that. Anyway, its a start, and lets hope it continues and that he grows beyond all expectations.
Nice letter! :)
@ Kido, :-)
@ Raghu, Indeed - I've been following him on twitter since the election results. And that particular status egged to write to him and expect a reply.
Too good man !! Vote Vikas Shenoy for Prime Minister :)
C-lay, thanks! We should all get into the race - it'll be super fun. :-)
Im sure if 5 IITians put their heads together, we can get someone elected to the lok sabha. We should start from AP in my opinion :)
C-lay, Ha ha. You definitely got the starting point correct there!
@ Vikas,
You shouldn't be very disappointed (not that you seem to be) at his copy-paste reply, seeing as he might've received many letters that are a copy-paste of yours too. :P
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