Tanmay, a tall & lanky 26
year old shy guy, was driving back home from the city hospital in his luxurious
wedding gift ‘Volkswagen’. With some despicable thoughts and a grim look on his
face he parked the car at his residence and pulled the key from the right
pocket of his trousers. Just as he put the key in its slot and unlocked the
door, he was taken aback by the view of his drawing room. Horror of horrors, the
entire room had turned dark red. The walls, the floor, the roof, sofa set, bed
sheet, etc everything appeared bloodshot.
Now let’s slip into a small flashback. 45
days back the “Rajput Mansion” was
ecstatic at the news of the arrival of new family member. Ananya, Tanmay’s wife, was expecting. Mr. and Mrs. Rajput were on cloud nine, day dreaming the entire day
at the joy of being grandparents. There were regular visits to the gynecologists,
umpteen tests, medical checkups, etc. More often than not, Tanmay would return
home early and take Ananya for a shopping spree. The house was filled with toys
and all kids’ paraphernalia.
Suddenly one day a thought struck Mr.
Rajput that after few months they would turn grandparents but will they be
playing with a grandson or a granddaughter!!! He shared this thought with Mrs.
Rajput. Both of them always had a penchant for male child. But when this
penchant turns into greed, it can make one do the unthinkable. Apprehension of
arrival of a granddaughter, Mrs. Rajput once took Ananya to the doc’s clinic.
In name of regular checkups, she did the sonography. Mrs. Rajput saw a girl
child floating in the womb. A gush of disappointment struck her. She can’t let
this happen. She had a long discussion with Mr. Rajput and they came to
unanimous conclusion that abortion was the only way out. Tanmay, an ideal and
obedient son, agreed after a few yes and no. He never had a say in his family,
he could never raise a voice over his parents. He had never done it. Mr. and
Mrs. Rajput convinced him quite easily.
Amidst all this plotting and planning,
Ananya was living the time of her life. The joy of “going to be a mother” had
engulfed her. The next Sunday, after doing her regular course of exercise,
meditation & breakfast Ananya, along with her family, visited the doc’s
clinic for a checkup. But this time it was not only about checkup it was about checkout!! The doctor was no more doing a noble profession;
he had taken the role of a hustler.
After attending to Ananya for 25 minutes, the doctor came out to congratulate the
Rajputs. The little beautiful nest in Ananya’s body was blooded. It had turned
red and dark. The bird had flown and she would never come back again.
Ananya was told about it 4 hours later.
She was shattered and crestfallen. The people whom she trusted the most had
betrayed her. Tanmay was asked to go home and get some new clothes for Ananya.
It was then that Tanmay entered and saw his drawing room turn red. To be honest the colour of drawing was never red. It was Tanmay’s
soul/heart/mind that had turned red because he knew he was making a wrong move
but he never retaliated. He was always silent and flew with the wave of crime.
Rajputs’ were just one example of Female Foeticide in India but there are
innumerable cases of female feticide and infanticide taking place around and in
our society. It has plagued the educated, the illiterate, the rich, the poor
everyone in our country irrespective of caste or religion. The befuddling thought
is that the mother-in-laws’, who are themselves women, are supporting such assassinations.
We are at the twilight of losing
daughters but today I pray that this twilight is followed by a dawn and sunrise
rather than by a dark, hollow night.
I
dedicate this article to the mothers who undergo the agony of losing a girl
child and to the angel who never witnessed the daylight.
Note:
This article is inspired from the first episode of Satyamev Jayate, a reality show on Star Plus by the Aamir Khan
Productions.
....@ Debashish
