رسائل نهرو إلى أنديرا

by Jawaharlal Nehru, أحمد بهاء الدين (المترجم)

سنجد في هذه الرسائل لمسة الأب نهرو وهو يخاطب ابنته انديرا في حنان ومحبة. ولكننا سنجد كذلك لمسة نهرو المفكر والمناضل والثائر والمحب للهند وللانسانية.. إنه يكتب هذه الرسائل من السجن، ليدافع بها عن الحرية وليصوغ المستقبل، للهند وللعالم.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, India, Classics, Indian Literature, Memoir, Childrens

211 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

First prime minister of independent India (1947 – 64), Nehru was educated at home and in Britain and became a lawyer in 1912. More interested in politics than law, he was impressed by Mohandas K. Gandhi's approach to Indian independence. His close association with the Indian National Congress began in 1919; in 1929 he became its president, presiding over the historic Lahore session that proclaimed complete independence (rather than dominion status) as India's political goal. He was imprisoned nine times between 1921 and 1945 for his political activity. When India was granted limited self-government in 1935, the Congress Party under Nehru refused to form coalition governments with the Muslim League in some provinces; the hardening of relations between Hindus and Muslims that followed ultimately led to the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan. Shortly before Gandhi's assassination in 1948, Nehru became the first prime minister of independent India. He attempted a foreign policy of nonalignment during the Cold War, drawing harsh criticism if he appeared to favour either camp. During his tenure, India clashed with Pakistan over the Kashmir region and with China over the Brahmaputra River valley. He wrested Goa from the Portuguese. Domestically, he promoted democracy, socialism, secularism, and unity, adapting modern values to Indian conditions. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, became prime minister two years after his death.

Reviews

[Shonali · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandfather was a very avid reader. He was the one who recommended books to me when I would spend hours just surfing bookshelves in our local library. It was through him that I got familiar with the works of Tolstoy , Pearl S Buck , Charles Dickens and some great Indian authors like Mulk Raj Anand , K.M.Munshi and Jawaharlal Nehru. I had read Glimpses Of World History by Nehru and loved it but somehow never read this beautiful little collection of letters Jawaharlal Nehru sent his 10 yrs old daughter Indira ( later known as Indira Gandhi ) when she was spending her summer at Mussorie , a hill station and Nehru himself was busy working in his home town Allahabad.

This set of letters he sent , tell the story of creation of Earth and its evolution. Nehru covers them chronologically with letters on First Living Things , Early Men , Civilizations , Trade, Great Cities and many more. Such is the lucidity of his writing that at one point I felt , wish all books were written in this way.

Another intresting point to be noted is that Nehru didnt spoon feed his daughter with all the facts . He just told enough to make her curoius , so that she was initiated in to the quest of knowing more about them. Now, that is what process of learning is all about.

Here is my fav part of the book

Boys and girls, even grown ups are are often taught history in a peculiar way. They learn the names of the kings and others , and dates of battle and like. But surely history does not consist of battle and few persons who became kings and generals. History should tell us of the people of the country , how they lived , what they did and what they thought .It should tell us of their joys and sorrows , of their difficulties and how they overcame them..



With some really great illustrations , it makes a wonderful read not just for kids but also for adults. I can say its a refresher course on things we should know but hardly make an effort to think about..

Highly recommended..

[Shaid Zaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

ইন্দিরা গান্ধীর বয়স তখন মাত্র দশ বছর। গ্রীষ্মের ছুটিতে হিমালয়ের পাশে মিসৌরি গিয়েছেন বেড়াতে। বাবা জওহরলাল নেহরু তাকে রোজ চিঠি লিখতেন। সেই চিঠিগুলো নিয়েই এই বইটা। কয়েকটি নিছক ব্যাক্তিগত চিঠি। কিন্তু কি তার গভীরতা। ছোট্ট একটা মেয়েকে শিখিয়েছেন ইতিহাস, শিখিয়েছেন বাস্তবতা। কিভাবে মানুষ এলো, কিভাবে মানুষ সভ্য হল, কিভাবে জাতি গঠিত, কিভাবে জাতিগত সমস্যা সভ্য মানুষকে আবার অসভ্য করে তুলল সব কিছু সম্পর্কে নেহেরু সাহেব ছোট্ট কন্যা কে ধারনা দিয়েছেন চিঠিগুলোর মাধ্যমে। পুঁথিগত শিক্ষা থেকে অনেক উপরের লেভেলের এই শিক্ষা। কেন ইন্দিরা গান্ধী একজন প্রথিতযশা নারী হয়ে উঠবেন না?

দারুণ একটা বই। সবার পড়া উচিৎ।

[Adham Alif]

ইতিহাসের সহজ ও সংক্ষিপ্ত পাঠ। কিশোর বয়সীদের জন্য ভালো অপশন হতে পারে।

[S.Ach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now, I know which book to gift my daughter on her 10th birthday….or may be year before.

The Four Stars are not for the content of the book, but for the tone alone.
Swami Vivekananda once said,

"You cannot teach a child anymore than you can grow a plant. The plant develops its own nature. It also teaches itself, but you can help it go forward in its own way. 
The role of a teacher is to "loosen the soil a little, so that it may come out easily. Put a hedge around it. See that it is not killed by anything. Supply the growing seed with the materials for the making up its body, bringing to it the earth, the water, the air...and then your work stops. It will take all that it wants by its own nature. So, with education of the child, the child educates itself."

And that is exactly what Nehru had done with these letters to young Indira. The letters are not exhaustive, but those provide enough information to ignite the curiosity in a young learner to explore the world of knowledge.

[Dhara Mehta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful little book about the history of the world for the perspective of at amateur historian as well the first prime minister of India. I was thoroughly impressed with Mr. Nehru knowledge about the world history, this too expressed in letters to his ten year old daughter. To think that this book could have been in a prison without references speaks to the author’s supreme intellect. Seventy years have passed since the first publication of Letters from a Father to His Daughter, history too has been rewritten. The theory of the Aryan invasion has been called into question. Overall it is a wonderful and insightful book.

Favorite Quotes
1. We have to see what is good in our ways and customs and try to keep it, and whatever is bad, we have to throw it away. If we find anything that is good in other countries, we should certainly take it (p 62).
2. To work together is better than to work singly, and to work together for the common good is the best for all (p 65).
3. This seems horrible but a man is afraid will do anything (p 72).
4. A famous French king once said L’etst c’est moi- ‘The State, it is I or I am the State.
5. The idea of religion came through the fear of the unknown (p 91).
6. To the Aryan death was better than dishonor or slavery (p 149)

[Rafat Tamim · Rating 4 out of 5]

কিশোর-কিশোরীদের জন্য অবশ্যপাঠ্য।

[Richa Bhattarai · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review, when I was 10 years old: (1997)

"This is a very interesting book. Jawaharlal Nehru wrote 30 letters to his daughter Indira Gandhi when he was in jail. He wrote these letters not only to give her knowledge, but to raise thoughts about the nature, in which we live, don't think about it, and treat it so cruelly.

We destroy nature's beautiful trees and plants, yet nature's so kind to us. Jawaharlal Nehru, a great soul, didn't want his daughter to treat nature cruelly. So he wrote these letters. The letters didn't only give a new hope to her life, but gave her a path to walk on. She became a great woman afterwards, with the help of these letters."

[Reyhaneh · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب نامه های نویسنده در جواب به سوال های دخترش تو زمانی که زندانی بود رو شرح داده. موضوعات کتاب شامل مطالب علمی در‌باره پیدایش جهان، پیدایش انسان، پیدایش زبان و خط، پیدایش تمدن‌ها و اجتماعات، وقایع تاریخی و... است.
بعضی از مطالب کتاب با توجه به گذر زمان و پیشرفت علم، مسوخ شده اما باز هم کتاب جالبیه.
دیدگاه نویسنده که همه ی ما با هم پیوند داشته و خویشاوندیم و همچنین خط فکری سیاسی و آزادی خواه ش هم جالب و مشهود بود.

[Manaswita R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book. I read it when I was 13, and I remember enjoying it very much.

I wouldn't, of course, place it parallel to Nehru's other two works- Glimpses of World History and The Discovery of India, for the scope of those two books are exhaustive and very different.

But this one stands out on its own, as something very sweet and instructive only an encouraging father would gift to his curious daughter.

[Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Mahabharata came long after the Ramayana. It is much bigger book. These were the books written in India thousands of years ago. Who but the greatest of men could have written them? And although they were written so long ago, they live today in India and every child knows them and every grown-up is influenced by them"

[Nazila · Rating 5 out of 5]

این کتاب را وقتی 15 سالم بود خواندم. با توجه به آنچه درباره ی هند شنیده بودم که خانواده ها وقتی میفهمند که دختر دارند یا سقط جنین میکنند یا زنده به گور، خواندن نامه های نهرو به دخترش چنان احترام نسبت به این مرد در من ایجاد کرد که او را برای خود سر مشق و الگوی زندگی قرار دادم و از او همان الگوی پدر-همسری را ساختم که هیچ گاه نتوانستم دز زندگی واقعی پیدا کنم.

[Sidharth Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have kicked it when i would have been small eventhough i read it few years back i liked by sheer pleasure of a father making his daughter aware of surroundings

[Hridoy Hoque · Rating 5 out of 5]

শুরু করেছিলাম বহু আগে। মাঝে অন্য একটি বইয়ের মধ্যে একটু সময় দিচ্ছিলাম। আবার বহুদিন পর এই বইতে ফিরে তাড়াতাড়ি শেষ করলাম। ছোটদের বই। স্বভাবতই সাদামাটা। ছোটদের জন্য অবশ্যপাঠ্য বইয়ের তালিকায় রাখবো এটি। তাছাড়া, নিজের কথাই যদি একটু বলি– ইতিহাস ও সভ্যতা নিয়ে আমি এখনও বিগিনার লেভেলে। যদিও এ বইয়ের অধিকাংশই জানা ছিলো, তবুও শুরুর ক্ষেত্রে বইটা পেয়ে বেশ ভালোই হলো। তাছাড়া, ছোটদের বই আমার ভালো লাগে। আপনারও যদি আমার মতো অবস্থা হয়ে থাকে, তবে শুরু করে দিন।

[Dalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

لقد سهل علىّ نهرو فكرة أن أكتب عن هذا الكتاب ، اذ أن رسالته الأخيرة لابنته فيها كل ما قد يقال عن هذا الكتاب، و هى الرسالة الوحيدة التى تلمح فيها لماذا أرهق نفسه بكتابة هذه الرسائل ، وهى ليست الا تلخيصه لأحداث التاريخ و قرائته لها، و لا تحمل أى شحنة عاطفية من تلك التى يبثها أب لابنته سوى آخر رسالة و التى منها أقتبس:
"ها نحن ، يا عزيزتى قد وصلنا الى ختام القصة. وليس لدى الآن ما أقوله، و لكن رغبتى فى أن أنهى خطاباتى اليك بنوع من التفاؤل هى التى تدفعنى الى كتابة هذا الخطاب - آخر خطاب!
.........هكذا ينتهى السجن السادس لى ، وبعده أخرج الى العالم الواسعو لكم لأية غاية؟ ان معظم أصدقائى و زملائى موزعون بين السجون و بلادى كلها تبدو و كأنها سجن كبير!
ما أكثر كمية الخطابات التى كتبتها، و ما أكثر ما استهلكت من الحبر و الورق، المصنوع صناعة وطنية! ترى هل يستحق هذا كله شيئا؟ هل وجدت فى كل ما حمله اليك كل هذا الحبر و الورق شيئا يهمك؟ ستقولين نعم بغير شك، لأنك تعرفين أن أى اجابة أخرى قد تؤلمنى. وأنتى تحابيننى بحيث لا يمكن أن تقدمى على هذه المخاطرة. و لكن ، سولء أعجبك ما كتبته لك أم لم يعجبك،فانك لن تبخلى على بالسعادة التى كنت أشعر بها و أنا أكتب هذه الخطابات ،يوما بعد يوم، خلال عامين طويلين.....
و اياك أن تأخذى شيئا مما حدثتك به فى هذه الخطابات على أنه قضية مسلمةأو على أنه كلام خبير..رجل السياسة فى العادة يحب الادلاء برأيه فى كل موضوع ،وهو عادة يتظاهر بمعرفة أكثر مما يعرف فعلا!، و لذا فانه يجب مراقبته بدقة!.....
و لكن قراءة الكتب وحدها لا تكفى ، فلكى تعرفى الماضى يجب أن تنظرى اليه فى مشاركة و فهم..لكى تفهمى انسانا عاش منذ زمن يجب أن تفهمى البيئة التى أحاطت به، و الظروف التى عاش فيها و الأفكار التى كانت تملأ رأسه.فانه من السخف أن نحكم على الذين عاشوا قبلنا كما لو كانوا يعيشون فى عالمنا و يفكرون كما نفكر.."

و هذا قليل من كثير قاله فى هذه الرسالة تحديدا، هو الموضوعى كما أريد أن أكون :)

[Mimisha Nishat Mati · Rating 4 out of 5]

আমি বইয়ের একটা ছোট্ট অংশ দিয়েই শুরু করতে চাই - "আমরা যদি ধীরে ধীরে অনুসন্ধান করি এবং বুঝতে চেষ্টা করি তবে বর্তমান কালের অনেক বিষয়ই আমদের কাছে সহজ মনে হবে। আর যদি তা না করি তাহলে চারপাশের বিষয়গুলো কোনদিনই বুঝতে পারব না। আমরা তখন হয়ে যাব গভীর অরণ্যে 'পথহারা এক শিশু'র মতো। সেজন্য আমি তোমাকে নিয়ে যাচ্ছি সেই গহীন জঙ্গলের প্রান্তে যাতে তুমি সহজেই পথ খুঁজে পেতে পার।"

মেয়ে ইন্দিরা গান্ধি-কে লেখা তার বাবা জওহরলাল নেহেরুর ব্যক্তিগত ত্রিশটি চিঠির সংকলন এই গ্রন্থ! ১৯২৯ সালে মেয়ে ইন্দিরা গান্ধী যখন গ্রীষ্মের ছুটিতে মুসৌরীর পাহাড়ে তখন বাবা জওহরলাল ব্যস্ত সময় কাটাচ্ছেন এলাহাবাদে! তা সত্ত্বেও কন্যা ছিলো তার সমস্ত ধ্যানজ্ঞান  জুড়ে! তিনি যে বড়ো বেশি কন্যা অন্তঃপ্রাণ ছিলেন তা তিনি পুরোটা বইয়ের বিভিন্ন অংশে স্পষ্ট ছাপ রেখে গেছেন! ভূগোল, ইতিহাস, সমাজতত্ত্ব বিষয়ের বিস্তারিত নানা আলোচনা করা আছে এসব চিঠিতে। আছে কিভাবে এবং কখন সৃষ্টি হলো এ পৃথিবী, আছে জীবজন্তু এবং মানবজীবনের সূত্রপাত কিভাবে হয়েছে, মানবসভ্যতার গোড়াপত্তন এবং তার বিকাশ এবং সেই সাথে আছে পুরো বিশ্বসভ্যতার এক সংক্ষিপ্ত পরিচয় - এবং এ সকল বিষয় উপস্থাপিত করা হয়েছে নানা প্রকার তথ্য - উপাত্তসহ। বাবা হিসেবে জওহরলাল নেহেরু কি অসম্ভব সফলতার সাথে এবং সুনিপুণ ভাবে তার কন্যা-কে একটু একটু করে বড়ো করতে সক্ষম হয়েছিলেন তার বেশ বড়ো একটা চিত্র আমরা এই বইটির থেকেই অনুধাবন করে ফেলতে পারি।

বইটি আমি অনেক-টা সময় নিয়ে পড়েছি! মাত্র একশত আঠাশ পৃষ্ঠার বইটি এতোটা সময় নিয়ে কেনো পড়লাম তার উত্তরটি বেশ বড়ো! পড়বার সময়ে আমি ভীষণ মজার এবং গুরুত্বপূর্ণ কিছু বিষয় নিয়ে চিন্তা করেছি!  এই যেমন ধরুন, চিঠি লিখবার কালে ইন্দিরা গান্ধীর বয়স মাত্র আট, আট বছর বয়েসে এই বইটি আমি যদি পড়তে পেতাম তাহলে কেমন হতো! আমি কল্পনা করেছি, নিজেকে দাঁড় করিয়ে আট বছরের ইন্দিরা গান্ধীর স্থানটিতে! ভেবে দেখুন তো একটিবার, কি আমূল বদল আপনি নিজের পুরোটা অস্তিত্ব জুড়ে অনুভব করছেন!? পারবেন আপনিও তবে অবশ্যই তার পূর্বে এই বইটি আপনাকে পড়ে নিতে হবে! আমি যেনো ঠিক এক অসম্ভব বুদ্ধিদীপ্ত কোন আয়নার মাঝে বারেবারে নিজেকেই নিজে প্রশ্নবিদ্ধ করে গেছি কি হতো যদি বইটা ঠিক ও- বয়েসে আমায় কেউ দিত? অথবা এমন কোন চিঠি আমি যদি পেতাম!? কি হতো!?  আমি ভাবতে পারিনি আর এরপরের কোন চিত্র! অবশ্য  কোন আফসোস আমার নেই কেননা এখনো যে বিশাল উপকার আমার হলো তা-ও তো কম কিছু নয়! আমি এইটাও মাথায় তুলে রাখবো!

[Ramu Vairavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of letters from a father to his daughter, both to-be prime ministers of independent India. As a kid, I loved wearing an outfit that consisted of a sherwani with a rose pinned on. Only now am I getting to know the man who inspired this mode of fashion (aka the Nehru jacket).

Using uncomplicated words, Pandit Nehru artfully condenses millions of years of natural history and human development into 30 brief letters. His eclectic interests shine through the sweeping range of topics he touches on. His gentle calls for his young daughter to read the "book of nature" and embrace all peoples of the world are endearing. His laments on the decadence and decline the world has seen bring a poignancy with them.

Some of the stories he shares are speculative, but they are fascinating to consider all the same. I am sure her father's teachings and thoughts in these letters went some way in shaping Indhira Gandhi into the Iron Lady she came to be called. Given how moving letters shared between loved ones can be, it is but a pity that letter writing is dying out these days, or perhaps, is already dead.

Presented as a children's book, beautiful illustrations accompany the text. People of all ages, however, will find appeal in the book. I found it a pleasure to read.

[Md Shariful Islam · Rating 3 out of 5]

খুব একটা উপকারে আসলো না যেহেতু বেশিরভাগই জানা কথাই! ( অবশ্য দশ বছরের মেয়ের কাছে লেখা চিঠিগুলোতে তো এসব সাধারণ কথাবার্তাই থাকার কথা!)

[Vibina Venugopal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a collection of 30 letters written by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru , the first prime minister of India to his 10 year daughter Indira Priyadharshini later Indira Gandhi, who also became the prime minister of the country during a summer in 1928..Though the book might sound out of date for the current era, if you can go back in times, you'll definitely enjoy the book...Nehru's work kept him away from his daughter, it was difficult for him to spend quality time with her, staying away, letters were the only medium to be close to his daughter and probably the only mean to tell her about things that a father might tell his daughter during everyday conversation.. I had read an excerpt back in school, I got a copy of ,to gift my cousin who is about 10 yrs, the same age of Indira Gandhi then..Before giving away ,I read it of course..

These are not mere letters to a daughter, but a way that developed a standing bond between a dad and daughter ...The book opens up with earth and universe..This book give the reader a glimpse of his personality were he is trying to reach out to his daughter in possible ways...He has a knack of explaining things in a simple way be it the big bang theory, Egyptian mummies or how man evolved to rule over other living being.....He moves on to speak about race, religion , he has interestingly written about the beginning of communication..Everything is so effortlessly conveyed for a 10 yr old to grasp..The essence behind the great Indian mythology Mahabharata and Ramayana is also explained....

The book comprises every edge to make a child ponder on things, it opens up a child to the wonderful world around....Science, myth, history all finds a place..The illustrations makes the book a wonderful read...The book not only explains various facts, but also leaves room for further studies and thought, and that is the best part of it...

[Akshay · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Letters From A Father To His Daughter" is a fine collection of letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru to his daughter Indira Priyadarshini when she was 10. Through these letters, Nehru talks to his daughter about the story of the earth, civilisation, nature, history, race, languages, early man, tribes and much more. Written in a style that is amazingly simple, this book is a must read for children aged 8-12. This book opens a child's eyes to the beauty of the world around him/her. As for adults, it is a wonderful flashback of things we learnt a long time ago; things that were never quite this succinctly put. His concise writing in these letters is a marked departure from the lyrically rich works like "The Discovery of India". The illustrations in this book are eye-catching and will add to the reading experience. I highly recommend this book to children; it is timeless and the values that Nehru writes about, are universal.

[Radhika Taneja · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Letters from a father to his daughter" is a series of letters written by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, to his daughter, Indira. It is not only a series of letters but according to me, an account of the experiences and thinking of Nehru. These letters seem to be written effortlessly, though it has complex content, so that 10-year-old Indira. The lessons given are indeed very complex for a person to understand at such a tender age. The letters tell us everything, right from the Big Bang theory to the epic era of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
All in all, this book is very informative and easy to understand for young students such as me...

[Shashvat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each chapter of this book by Nehru refreshes your smile, often inciting tears as well. The beauty of this book lies in its simplicity and purity which stirs up emotions from deep within. Nehru writes to his darling daughter Indira about the vagaries of nature, existence, and basic animal sciences along with essential morals derived from world history and Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, in the form of periodic letters. Indira would grow up to be the first and only woman Prime Minister of India, and probably the finest India ever saw.
A short sweet bedtime read for one and all, it is sure to make your heart melt.

[Anupama Sarkar · Rating 2 out of 5]

These letters are not the usual communication between a father and a daughter. They neither talk about daughter’s dreams nor the father’s worries or expectations, but are an effort at the daughter’s education, especially her outlook towards her country and world at large. Nehru begins with the very beginning, he talks about how the universe was created, much in the same way, as we read in the text books, in the easiest of words and in the most straightforward manner.

The book was an ok read. Though I found that some of the letters were heavily biased against Brahmins, making me wonder if inculcating prejudices in a child's mind is a good strategy.

[Md. Faysal Alam Riyad · Rating 5 out of 5]

এই বইটাকে আমি রেটিং ৫ এ ৫ দিব। অনেক দিন সত্যি খুব চমৎকার একটা বই পড়লাম। স্বাধীন ভারতের অন্যতম স্থপতি পন্ডিত জওহরলাল নেহেরুর মেয়ে ইন্দিরা গান্ধী। ইন্দিরা গান্ধী পরবর্তীতে ভারতের প্রধানমন্ত্রী হয়েছিলেন। ইন্দিরা গান্ধী যখন ছোট তখন একবার সে কিছু সময় মুসৌরীর হিমালয় পাহাড়ের উপর ছিলেন। সে সময় নেহেরু সাহেব তাঁর কন্যার কাছে অনেকগুলো চিঠি লিখেন। এগুলো সাধারণ কোন, কেমন আছ মা? এই টাইপের চিঠি না। সভ্যতা, ইতিহাস-ঐতিহ্য, অর্থনীতি, রাজনীতি, সর্বোপরি মানুষকে উপজীব্য করে লিখিত এগুলো। এত জটিল ও গুরুগম্ভীর বিষয়গুলো পন্ডিত নেহেরু সাহেব এক বিস্ময়কর সহজ ভঙ্গিতে উপস্থাপন করেছেন। প্রতিটি স্কুল পড়ুয়া স্টুডেন্টদের এই বইটা পড়া উচিত এবং উচিত।

[Ratnesh Neema · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good read, if you're 10, and if it were 1980s. It has a lot of information, but a lot of it is presented as speculations which we know as facts in the present day; it's a book that has failed to pass the test of time.
The letters try to tell us that nothing is unimportant. We should keep learning, and exploring the world around us!

[Anas I S · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a book comprises of letters to Indira Gandhi from his father, Jawaharlal Nehru giving awareness about the origin , life process and humans to his 10-year-old daughter. He says that basically humans are the same even though we look different and are from different locations. This book can create scientific temperament among readers. A must-read for all ages

[Simran · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
If I ever have a kid, I'm going to read him/her portions of this book. Some information, however, is outdated (as you'd expect) but it's pretty great as a whole nevertheless.

[fugguu_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letters from a Father to his DaughterJawaharlal Nehru
''An INTELLECTUAL BOOK''
This book is a collection of letters written by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to his beloved daughter Indu (pet name of Indira Gandhi) when she was nine years old.
This book is a great way to know about the evolution in a concise way , as how Earth came into existence? How animals and plants came? How Humans developed their community? etc.
You will see this world in a different way after reading this book as each and every detail of nature or Earth is described so beautifully, you will find yourself close to nature, you will be able to read "THE BOOK OF NATURE'' as Jawaharlal Nehru said...
And believe me this book is intellectual, dosen't means its boring, its amazing and I really enjoyed reading this.❤
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P.S. Recommended to all generation^_^
❤

[Amrendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

१९३०-४० के मध्य लिखे पत्रों का संकलन इस किताब में है। इन पत्रों में जवाहरलाल नेहरू द्वारा इंदिरा को एक पिता के रूप में सलाह दी गई है। कई पत्र देहरादून जेल से , रेलवे स्टेशनों से और विदेश से भी लिखे गए हैं।
इंदिरा को यूरोप (मुख्यतः स्विट्जरलैंड) में स्वस्थ रहने के लिए परामर्श, अच्छी पुस्तकों का भेजना, खर्च के लिए रुपए भेजना, अपने जानकार मित्रों से परिचय कराना, हेराल्ड अखबार की कतरनें भेज भारतीय राजनीतिक गतिविधियों से अवगत रखना, अपनी यात्राओं का वृत्तांत लिखना, इत्यादि इन पत्रों में शामिल है।
इन पत्रों में पिता का पुत्री के लिए प्रेम और उसके भविष्य को गढ़ने में गहन रुचि सामने आती है। जवाहरलाल हमेशा इंदिरा को शारीरिक और मानसिक रूप से मजबूत बनने की सलाह देते हैं और उसे यह भी याद दिलाते रहते हैं की उन्हें बड़े होकर बड़ी जिम्मेदारियां संभालनी है।
यह पत्र संकलन काफी प्रचलित रहा है और इसे लंबे समय तक विद्यालय सिलेबसों में भी रखा गया। इसका कारण इनका सरल अंदाज, ज्ञानवर्धक जानकारी और संतुलित लेखनी रही है। आज इसे पढ़कर उन दिनों की एक झलकी भी मिलती है। इस रूप में यह पत्र-संकलन वाकई रुचिकर है।

[Arnab Dey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The letters discuss a wide variety of topics from the start of our solar system and the evolution of life on Earth to early men and the beginning and evolution of civilization. The articulation is simple enough for a 10 year old to be able to follow them and yet, remarkably insightful and articulate for adults to learn something from.

This would have been a good book even if it were just any man discussing the world around with their daughter. The man being Nehru has a two-fold impact; one, the articulation is impeccable across a whole motley of topics and secondly, the world view he shares with his daughter can be used to guess where a lot of his political opinion (on religion, democracy, diplomacy) would have come from.

Definitely worth a read.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the types of books I like to read when I’m in a rut and have no motivation to pick up a book. The style and flow of the writing makes it easy to follow along with the letters even when I take breaks from reading. Jawaharlal Nehru’s way of writing to his daughter (Indira Gandhi) referencing moments of their lives, while also teaching her (and now the reader) about the history of the world through these short and sweet letters makes the book feel intimate and cozy like I’m enjoying a nice conversation. Reading these pieces of history was such an enjoyable experience and this is definitely a book to be read by everyone.