Mumbai:
You've heard stories of female foeticide, the dipping sex ratio even more dismal for children, child abandonment, police callousness and apathy, parental neglect, and what not the regular, apparently disconnected attributes that together form the seamy sly side of a big bad city such as ours and feed off of its seeming indifference.
You've heard them often enough to discard more of the same without notice. But one little story of an ordinary man shines through to reverse these unflattering characteristics, stuck to the credentials of a fast-paced city, like badges of infamy.
The story centres on a police constable, Kadu Patade, and his family wife and three sons. They adopted a two-and-a-half month girl, abandoned and ailing, to raise her to be a responsible citizen.
"It was six years ago that my son, Vishal, brought a baby girl to our house. She was in a very bad condition malnourished and unconscious, and only two and a half months old," said Patade, who is posted with the Samata Nagar police station.
Vishal, now 28, had come to know of the infant from his maternal uncle, a BMC worker, in 2005. "The girl was the child of a labourer from Andhra Pradesh. An alcoholic, his wife got fed up of him and left him, deserting their 60-day-old daughter."
Incidentally, the labourer's wife took their son with her when she parted, leaving the infant behind, at the mercy of her fate. "The labourer wanted to get rid of the girl and approached my uncle.
When my uncle saw the poor child, he guided the labourer to orphanages and shelters in the city. But no one was ready to take the child as her parents were alive," Vishal said.
Vishal was moved by the story of the deserted child. On impulse, he went to the labourer's house in Malad and took the child from the alcoholic father.
"When Vishal brought the girl home, I was not sure of keeping her as she was very ill. Had something gone wrong, everyone would have blamed us. But my wife and children were convinced that they could take care of her," said Patade.
It was not an easy call to make for the constable. He had three school-going children, and managing finances at a constable's salary is not exactly a cakewalk. Another mouth to feed is a huge responsibility. But the material constraints didn't hold him back from nurturing another life. The child stayed with the Patades.
What followed was earnest attempts to revive the child's health. She had been unconscious for a month when they found her. It took them another month to restore her to something like normalcy.
"My wife, Kesarbai, looked after her like a mother. We fed the girl warm milk every few hours. My sons Vilas, Nilesh and Vishal would massage her everyday, spoon-feeding her, making sure she remains healthy," said Patade, who can barely make both ends meet with the job he has. "Her eyes still couldn't open."
The child was sick, but Patade did not take the infant to the doctor; he could not have. There would have been questions where has the child come from, who are the real parents, why has the family adopted it.
But he made up for that.
He heeded the child that was entrusted to him without warning or occasion. And just as much without occasion, the family's unflagging resolve to get the child back to consciousness bore fruit. Over the next weeks, the child came to, to peer at the family that had brought her back to life.
She was christened Talvi, when neighbours began calling her by that name. Today, Talvi is six, inseparable from the family.
"She is part of our lives," said Patade. "My sons found a sister to dote on. My wife now had a daughter to nurture. And all of us are grateful for that. We adore her," said an ageing Patade.
Vishal, who brought her to the family, is now married. His wife adores Talvi as well. "Talvi is our little sister. We three brothers always wanted a sister. May be this is god's way of giving us one," said Vishal.
While the constable could not educate his three sons, he is confident of giving the girl proper education, so she is never helpless again in her life.
"We are raising her like our own child. She studies in an English Medium school in Kurar village and we all want her to have a good career, a great life," said Patade.
The girl's biological parents have never enquired about her. The Patade family is hoping that doesn't change. They cannot think of parting with her.
You've heard them often enough to discard more of the same without notice. But one little story of an ordinary man shines through to reverse these unflattering characteristics, stuck to the credentials of a fast-paced city, like badges of infamy.
The story centres on a police constable, Kadu Patade, and his family wife and three sons. They adopted a two-and-a-half month girl, abandoned and ailing, to raise her to be a responsible citizen.
"It was six years ago that my son, Vishal, brought a baby girl to our house. She was in a very bad condition malnourished and unconscious, and only two and a half months old," said Patade, who is posted with the Samata Nagar police station.
Vishal, now 28, had come to know of the infant from his maternal uncle, a BMC worker, in 2005. "The girl was the child of a labourer from Andhra Pradesh. An alcoholic, his wife got fed up of him and left him, deserting their 60-day-old daughter."
Incidentally, the labourer's wife took their son with her when she parted, leaving the infant behind, at the mercy of her fate. "The labourer wanted to get rid of the girl and approached my uncle.
When my uncle saw the poor child, he guided the labourer to orphanages and shelters in the city. But no one was ready to take the child as her parents were alive," Vishal said.
Vishal was moved by the story of the deserted child. On impulse, he went to the labourer's house in Malad and took the child from the alcoholic father.
"When Vishal brought the girl home, I was not sure of keeping her as she was very ill. Had something gone wrong, everyone would have blamed us. But my wife and children were convinced that they could take care of her," said Patade.
It was not an easy call to make for the constable. He had three school-going children, and managing finances at a constable's salary is not exactly a cakewalk. Another mouth to feed is a huge responsibility. But the material constraints didn't hold him back from nurturing another life. The child stayed with the Patades.
What followed was earnest attempts to revive the child's health. She had been unconscious for a month when they found her. It took them another month to restore her to something like normalcy.
"My wife, Kesarbai, looked after her like a mother. We fed the girl warm milk every few hours. My sons Vilas, Nilesh and Vishal would massage her everyday, spoon-feeding her, making sure she remains healthy," said Patade, who can barely make both ends meet with the job he has. "Her eyes still couldn't open."
The child was sick, but Patade did not take the infant to the doctor; he could not have. There would have been questions where has the child come from, who are the real parents, why has the family adopted it.
But he made up for that.
He heeded the child that was entrusted to him without warning or occasion. And just as much without occasion, the family's unflagging resolve to get the child back to consciousness bore fruit. Over the next weeks, the child came to, to peer at the family that had brought her back to life.
She was christened Talvi, when neighbours began calling her by that name. Today, Talvi is six, inseparable from the family.
"She is part of our lives," said Patade. "My sons found a sister to dote on. My wife now had a daughter to nurture. And all of us are grateful for that. We adore her," said an ageing Patade.
Vishal, who brought her to the family, is now married. His wife adores Talvi as well. "Talvi is our little sister. We three brothers always wanted a sister. May be this is god's way of giving us one," said Vishal.
While the constable could not educate his three sons, he is confident of giving the girl proper education, so she is never helpless again in her life.
"We are raising her like our own child. She studies in an English Medium school in Kurar village and we all want her to have a good career, a great life," said Patade.
The girl's biological parents have never enquired about her. The Patade family is hoping that doesn't change. They cannot think of parting with her.
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