Avanti And The World We Leave Behind For Her

Avanti was born on 25.11.2008 at a hospital in Bandra. I remember the doctor coming out with her — all covered in some kind of greenish liquid, all tiny, all pink and extremely beautiful. It is a moment that stays with every parent I guess, the first time they see their child.

The next day began on a normal Mumbai note, as cold as it can get in November, nothing out of the ordinary in terms of traffic. I remember spending the day in hospital meeting people who had dropped in to wish us well and say hello to Avanti. The day drew to a close and it was around 11:00 p.m that I decided to head back home.

We had absolutely no clue about what was unfolding in South Mumbai — no TV in the hospital. I remember wondering that something seemed off, there was hardly any traffic and for some strange reason, I knew something was amiss — it was just that kind of vibe which had settled onto my beloved city. Reaching home, put on the telly, and settled down to dinner; that was when the visuals started pouring in of the terrorist attack on parts of South Mumbai.

The news flew thick and fast, commandos flying in, the bravery of the Mumbai police force, the dogged determination of the staff at the TAJ, and finally the mention of the Mumbai spirit. I do remember writing to Mr. Ratan Tata and getting a reply in return — the old fashioned handwritten variety both ways.

It was a bewildering first few days of parenthood and a few thoughts sprung up then and have stayed with me.

Is this the world we will leave behind for Avanti, where terror strikes are as common as day and night, fueled by an incessant display of intolerance, polarisation, and machoism. Where a refusal to break with the past feeds on insecurities and turns into a weird unstoppable search for nirvana through the sword or any weapon. Bullets do not distinguish between religions and castes. Bombs once dropped will do the inevitable and be met with more from the other side, sometimes detonated by hand and at other times served by a remorseless drone somewhere high in the sky.

Things have only got uglier and a grim future seems up ahead. How does one prepare a child for this world? How do we equip her as parents to make her way through this maze?

Like in all adverse times one must go back to the basics. We can only teach her to reach out to everyone around her as any human would, that decency and trust should be her weapons of choice, that love will eventually triumph and that all swordsmen have always stepped aside to the righteous. That will have to do i guess.

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