This letter written by Jawaharlal Nehru in September 1911 has gone viral
If you’ve read about India’s first Prime Minister, you might be aware of his reported quirks and obsession about looking prim and proper, something that could well be seen in his daughter Indira Gandhi as well. A glimpse of it has made it to the Internet by way of a screenshot of a letter he had apparently written to his father Motilal Nehru in September 1911.
A Reddit user posted a picture of the letter which Nehru had written to his father sharing his problem of hair loss and how he has lost hope of getting them back. He also informs his father that he shouldn’t suggest using any hair oil because he has tried many of them but to no avail. “The amount of time and money I have spent on it might have been utilised in a much better manner,” he ends the letter with a little introspection.
Here’s what he wrote.
My dear Father,
…. The state of my head has certainly not improved lately. I think it is a little worse. I have been to the specialist twice and hope to go again in a short time. I don’t suppose there is any chance of my getting back any of my lost hair. I may possibly be able to retain what little I have left. You need not trouble to send me any kind of oil. I detest using too much oil and I do not think it does much good. Nothing in the world will make hair grow if there are no roots left. All that the lotions can do is to keep the hair clean and prepare the way for any future growth. Kishan Bhai made me undergo his own particular treatment for a fortnight but t did not do me much good. I am getting rather fed up with my hair. The amount of time and money I have spent on it might have been utilised in a much better manner….
With love,
from your loving son
Jawahar
No sooner had this image made it online, it became a subject of amusement for many on the thread, who started a discussion around how they empathise the little Jawahar. There were users who mentioned other bizarre letters from his selected works. “I got it from Volume 1 of Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru. Do read it, it has far more gems like this – Nehru trying to convince his mum that he doesn’t go drinking and dancing, complaining about being compared to some Sharmaji ka beta, getting super offended when his dad asked him for bills,” wrote a user.
Indianexpress.com could not lay its hands on the said volume and verify the existence of this letter at the time of writing.
Interestingly, the discussion on the thread was around whether oiling hair is good or not! “Yeah, oiling does help. Then again, oiling is disgusting in the short term. Even looking at people who have too much oil is uncomfortable. My one concern becomes not letting them get that hair near my clothes, regardless of how far they are from me and how likely they are to charge me headfirst,” wrote another user.
What are your impressions of this letter? Tell us in the comments below.
[“source-ndtv”]
