My mother herself is a very independent woman, and I've had a

In the voice of Shruti Haasan we hear a song of gratitude and inheritance: “My mother herself is a very independent woman, and I’ve had a leading example in this respect. And my father is a very liberal father who has always taught us to question things. He lives life on his own terms and stands by his beliefs. So, he has also been a great example.” These words are not simply a tribute to her parents, but a revelation of the ancient truth—that children are shaped by the examples of those who came before them, and that the virtues of fathers and mothers echo in the souls of their descendants.

She speaks first of the mother, who is an independent woman. Independence is not merely the ability to act alone, but the courage to stand firm when the winds of the world demand conformity. A mother’s independence becomes the daughter’s inheritance, not through lessons spoken, but through life lived. The child who witnesses her mother making choices with courage, carrying burdens with dignity, and honoring her own worth learns, without being told, that she too may walk this path of strength. Such an example is a seed planted in the heart, which grows into the tree of self-respect.

Then she turns to the father, a man who has taught his children to question. This is no small gift, for questioning is the root of wisdom. Blind obedience breeds weakness, but curiosity and inquiry forge strength of mind. A father who invites his children to think freely and challenge accepted truths arms them not with swords, but with sharper weapons: discernment, judgment, and the courage to stand apart. This is the essence of a liberal father—not one who dictates, but one who awakens the inner fire of inquiry.

To live by one’s beliefs, as her father does, is a virtue sung by sages and saints across time. History is full of those who bent to the will of the crowd and were forgotten, and of those who stood by their convictions and were remembered forever. Consider Socrates, who drank the cup of hemlock rather than betray his commitment to truth. His steadfastness was his legacy, teaching all who came after him that it is better to die with integrity than to live in compromise. Shruti’s father, by standing firm in his life, follows this eternal pattern and hands to his children not comfort, but honor.

Together, the parents offer two great examples: the mother, showing independence of action; the father, teaching independence of thought. Action and thought, body and spirit—when joined, they create a complete inheritance. A child raised in such a home receives not only love but also the tools to become whole, to face the world with both courage and clarity. This, then, is the origin of Shruti Haasan’s words: a childhood steeped in lived wisdom, passed not through lectures, but through example.

The lesson for us is profound: those who guide the young must remember that every choice, every action, every belief lived openly becomes a teaching. A child may forget the words of a parent, but never the life they witnessed. Therefore, let mothers live with integrity, that their daughters and sons may learn dignity. Let fathers live with courage, that their children may learn steadfastness. For the home is the first temple of learning, and parents are its high priests.

For the listener, the call is twofold. If you are a child, look with gratitude to the examples before you, and even where flaws exist, draw from the strengths that shine. If you are a parent, live as though every act were a lesson, for indeed it is. Be independent, be questioning, be firm in belief—so that your children may walk paths of courage and wisdom long after you are gone.

Thus Shruti Haasan’s words, though personal, become universal. They remind us that the greatest inheritance is not wealth or power, but example. And those who live with independence, questioning, and conviction leave behind not only children who honor them, but generations strengthened by their light.