Avik's Story

Oh my god! So this means parenting? This is what Taniya doing for the last four years! It’s mind-boggling, super challenging and yes, freaking exhausting. At first I must’ve done something wrong - I must’ve stumbled or hesitated to the point that my smallest one, Oishikaa blatantly refused to stay with me. She’d see me through her big round eyes from the safest lap of her granny, and must be pondering over the identity of this weird bearded guy, who was suddenly all upon her to take her to his lap and bribe with toys. She’s only eight months, but she’s got a solid personality. Gotta respect that - even though as a father, who was seeing his babies in months, I hated that. There was always a tinge of wonder mixed with concern, whenever I thought about my daughters and the way I’d behave in front of them, when they’d begin staying with me. It was a wonderful moment, when I saw them walking out slowly from plane, as if my two missing organs and parts of soul were found and r

She loved to smell random flowers, born out of neglect in Maidan, when we sat on grasses and looked at sky-crappers lurking ahead. She loved to hold my hand, sometimes my arm into her, while walking down cobble-stoned footpath in the heart of City of Joy. She loved to kiss my fingers, and then forehead, and then lips in god-forsaken odd places – in a patched backseat of faded yellow taxi, on a broken rikshaw drenched in sudden shower, sometimes in full public glare – a sneaking kiss. That was the best time of my life, but even at that happiness, I had this conviction that this’d not last forever. Sooner or later, she was destined to leave me to love some-other lucky one and to be loved thousand times more than I ever loved her. But in my wildest dream, I never thought that my own children would steal her from me. The prophecy was written on wall, but I was a naïve. I read the words, but not the sentence. I noticed the signs in bits, but not the bigger picture. An

Yesterday we had a small gathering – a sort of dinner party, honoring the little one’s arrival in this world. The gathering is the latest among many. She’s here only for twenty days and she’s receiving attention of all the joyous well-wishers – celebrating for her - jeering and cheering her tiny trivialities, even her obvious irascibilities. We, the parents too are receiving huge compliments – being congratulated often for bringing such a doll into existence. Into existence. But to where? And for what purpose? The questions came when I watched the baby after the guests left. She seemed to be restless and crying for probably being disturbed. She’s getting habitual to this world. She doesn’t know the applicable norms and customs to be followed before guests and hopefully, she’ll learn them pretty soon, because that is what expected from her. And she has to comply. While she was on my lap – whimpering occasionally – I couldn’t help but thinking the obvious. The Purpose. The Ch