Dear Eric, Today is Sri Panchami. A day of worship of Saraswati, goddess of learning. This day is seen as the beginning of knowledge, education and enlightenment.

Coincidentally, today is also the big day of your life—your first day at school. If I could, I would take your little hand to school this morning. I would have bowed down to you in the temple of Saraswati and asked for your blessings saying, 'May my son become a soldier, an engineer, a doctor - whatever he becomes, a good man'. But unfortunately, that happiness did not happen to me.

You are going to school, there will be new books, new teachers, new friends. But your father is writing this letter thousands of kilometers away from you. It was your mother's dream to teach you the alphabet for the first time, it was your father's dream to take you to school - but those dreams were unfulfilled. Why? Because our country could not fulfill our dreams. We tried to fight by staying in the country, but the country forced us to go abroad. Our dreams weren't too big, father. We just wanted to hold you in our arms and raise you, laugh when you laugh and clap when you take your first step. We wanted to send you to school in the morning, hold you in our arms when you come back in the evening and ask what you learned throughout the day. But the state of the country, unemployment and injustice shattered our dreams. There are no jobs in the country, no value for honest labor, corruption has robbed all opportunities. Leaders make speeches, sell dreams, but those dreams never come true. We are struggling to send our children to school, they are spending millions to educate their children abroad.

Mother didn't teach you the first letter with her own hand. Baba could not send him to the first school. We are fighting this so that your generation does not have to suffer the pain that our generation has to suffer. As you grow older, two paths will appear. First, where the country's ill-wishers walk in silence. Second, where we must speak the truth, fight against injustice, and try not to let our children suffer the pain we now suffer. I want you to choose the difficult but righteous path. Be a good person, be honest, and work for the good of the country. May your generation not repeat our tears. Now your generation must build this country. We should make the path of pain easy for you.

Sri Panchami is not only a day to worship Goddess Saraswati, but also a day to spread the light of knowledge. From today you will learn to recognize letters, understand, think. But true education is not limited to books. You must learn justice, learn honesty, and learn to fight for change.

– Santosh Simkhada , Tokyo, Japan