Dear Daughter,
I don’t know if you are ever going to find this
letter or if you find this, whether you will be able to read it and with all my
heart I wish you will be able to read this. But by God’s mercy, and I want you
to know that He is very merciful, if you ever find this letter please know that
I love you and will love you the same forever.
My lovely daughter,
you look so beautiful. You must have got this from your father’s side. They all
are so beautiful and so rich, but sadly so ungrateful. I love you my princess,
and I want you to learn to be grateful the way I am today, thanking the Almighty
for the most precious gift I have ever received as I hold you in my arms.
In your walk of life, I want you to be independent too. The world is
undoubtedly beautiful, but evil exists everywhere, like air. If you don’t stand
up for yourself, you will probably end up standing where I m today - helpless
and weak.
Something… something in you tells me that you are a
special child of God, and that you will have enough strength and wisdom to
protect yourself and hold your happiness near. Wish I could hold you the same
way, forever.
Though at times, we have to learn to let go. It’s the
hardest part, at times inevitable. But the day you will learn it, you will be
able to face and accept the strange ways of life and the mysterious paths of
destiny. This will help you to grow up into a strong child. I am going to count
days till then, and I for one, will be very proud of you that day whether I
could get this to you or not.
My daughter, you are my world and I
wish you all the luck in life. Remember, the water constantly struggles before
it cuts deep great mountains. This world we witness today is a result of
constant struggle. Everything around us does its job fighting all odds and
exists together to make this world complete. But ultimately it is the survival
of the fittest.
Always, my dear, give in your best, push your limits
to know what your limits really are. But above all, identify at least one soul,
apart from you, to share the benefit of what you did. For me, I know it’s you.
You will be happy and agree with whatever I did, the day you read this letter.
When you read, appreciate the knowledge more than the learning. Here
in your real home, education is an identity. Everyone is highly educated, but I
wish I could say the same for their knowledge. Please, my princess, if you get a
chance, I want you to seek knowledge before you earn degrees.
If all
here would have done that, they would have loved you and adored you the same way
as I do. They would have wanted to keep you badly, as I do. They want you now
also, but I cannot let them have you. God has sent you down with a fate already
written and I am not letting them destroy this beautiful plan of God.
I can live my dear, with your image in my mind, knowing that you are
safe far away, than cry over your grave in the backyard of this magnificent
palace.
You are a girl, a beautiful and charming girl, and that’s a
blessing my princess. That’s no crime. I cannot let them punish you for
something you never did. I am letting you go today, only to let you grow
tomorrow into an amazing woman of name and spirit.
With all the love
and helplessness in the world, I seek your forgiveness for not being there with
you at your every step. If I come along, they will find us both, but alone you
can live. I promise my prayers will always follow your paths.
Love
and Prayers,
A Mother.
With tears rolling down her cheeks, she held her baby tight for one last time. Then as in a flash of lightening, she remembered the brutal decision of her in-laws on her daughter’s birth. She carefully separated the tiny breathing soul from herself, folded the letter and with blurred vision placed it in the folds of her baby’s clothes.
She wiped her tears to get one last clear view of her own torn away part. She kissed her on her forehead and said a small prayer, in the dim lights of the dawn. A cool breeze hit her face and as nature agreed with her, she softly said ‘Amen’ and turned away only to never return back. Her baby, unaware of her fate, was still asleep in the comfort of her warm clothes at the doorsteps of the House of God.
The story may be a figment of imagination but is picked up from a real mother’s life’s tragedy. May be from one among the many mothers, who could not see their baby being killed before their eyes. Other 5,00,000 opt for selective abortion, thanks to our advancement in science and regression in humanity. Some even manage to gather enough guts to kill their own child by feeding them dry unshelled rice to puncture their windpipes or some poisonous fertilizer and salt to increase their blood pressure, or simply stuff them in clay pots or hang them by waist and shake them to break their spinal cord. All this on the land where killing girls is no big sin!
Deliberately I am skipping census statistics here. The very disturbing ways and unreasonable grounds for killing a girl child should be enough to highlight the cruelty. And this is no new concept but an age old practice which continued to grow with and within civilizations. People are so afraid to afford a girl child that one should not be surprised at catchlines like “spend 600 rupees now and save 50,000 rupees later” of many mushrooming ultrasound scanning centers.
There was a time when a girl was crowned for her famous answer that ”The origin of a child is a mother, and is a woman; and a woman is one who shares love; and shows a man what love, caring and sharing is all about.” I don’t think that was long ago. But I do know that it’s a wonderful theory which is believed by everyone and cared by none. We, as human, are on the verge of killing our own race. And killing girl child is the surest and fastest one.
Related Quranic verse :
With shame does he hide himself from his people, because of the bad news he had! On sufferance and) contempt, or bury it in dust? Ah! what an evil (choice) they decide on? (Quran 16:59)
