A Tale Of Legitimacy

Bina took Asha with her to the market for weekly purchases. Washing soap was one of the items on her list. The best brand, soft on hands was quite expensive and was beyond her budget for purchases of the day. Much as she wanted softer washing soap easy on hands and clothes, she couldn't help going for the cheaper one. Asha could see a somewhat disappointed expression on her face. Both of them came back from the market and put every purchase at their respective places. 8-year old Asha always looked forward to going out on these shopping trips with Bina. She felt good among the strangers in the market where everybody seemed too busy in themselves to disturb anyone passing by. Bina and Tej had been married for twelve years and were still not blessed with any child of their own. They got over the sentimentality of having a child of their own when after many medical checkups, doctors confirmed their inability to give birth to their own biological child. Who lacked what was never made known to anybody else. The outcome of the medical check-up remained confined to Bina, her husband, and doctors. 

During their numerous medical check-ups and interactions with doctors, Bina and Tej came to know about a number of unwanted newly borns abandoned by their biological parents for reasons best known to them. Instead of going for the adoption of a child, Bina and Tony decided to start a foster home for such children. After completing the formalities required, they circulated around the word about the foster home, a safe home for the abandoned children as they called it, they had opened. Soon they got a call from one such hospital where the mother had disappeared after giving birth to a female child. Bina and Tony took the child to their care. They were overwhelmed with maternal-paternal feelings when they held the first entrant of their foster home in their arms. Surprised at their own feelings, they took it as a miracle turning a new phase in their lives. Bowing before the blessings of God, they named her Asha... One after another, more and more abandoned children started coming. They were startled. In spite of their best intentions to cater to more and more neglected, unwanted children, they had to restrict the admission because of their limited financial as well as availability of physical help. They decided to help childless couples who were interested in adopting the children. Some of such needy couples showed interest in infants whereas some of them were interested in a little grown-up child. They had started this venture with limited physical and financial resources but soon their venture began to expand. Meager financial sources but abundant willpower to provide shelter to abandoned children made the children home a well-known word in the world of persons in dire need of such a getaway!

Tej was a successful businessman who had put part of his money into this venture. Bina was wholly dedicated to it physically and emotionally. Both of them would feel great satisfaction when any child, male or female was adopted by some needy childless couple. Their satisfaction was doubled when the child was happily settled in his or her new surroundings. They neither asked nor accepted any financial donation from anyone but rehabilitation of the neglected children was their main concern. Many children came and many children were adopted but Asha, the first entrant remained with Bina and Tej. Bina was extremely fond of Asha as she was the first inmate with whom the foster home, whom they preferred to call safe home, was started. Many couples had shown interest in adopting Asha but Bina could not bear even the thought of alienating her. She was the first inmate and Bina was emotionally attached to her. She had the best upbringing being the first and the only inmate for three years. Bina and Tej had treated her like their own biological child till they were ready to receive more children in their children's home. Asha remained with Bina and Tej. She grew up under their care and attention. She started getting her formal education along with other kids when there was an increase in the number of children and a teacher was engaged to give them basic education. 

Asha had had her basic education from Bina till she was the only occupant of the home. Bina had enough time in her hands to teach basic alphabets to Asha who was sharp enough to pick up fast. Learned basics in play way, she had developed a keen interest in learning more and reading more books. Always first to learn and reply, she proved a big help in the classroom when a teacher was engaged. The teacher started entrusting her with a few kids to teach the basics. Herself still a little older kid, she proved a hit with other kids. The safe home was always under constant watch and care of Bina and Tej who catering to Asha's interest in books encouraged and arranged for her higher studies. By then Asha had begun to understand the difference between biological born and adopted, orphan children. She had realized that she wasn't Bina's biological child. Although unspoken yet the large contrast between being legitimate and an illegitimate child was becoming crystal clear to her as she was growing up. She had always known Bina and Tej as her real parents and she herself, as their legitimate child. 

Being the very first entrant, Asha had watched many abandoned children find shelter in this safe home. Also, she had watched many children leaving the place with their adoptive parents. She had started sharing Bina's loving nature to take care of other neglected children. Possibly it was Bina's selfless love and grooming that Asha never felt jealous of other children getting equal attention from Bina and Tej. Much maturer than her age, she herself had never felt neglected and she wanted other children also not to feel neglected. Her love and respect for Bina and Tej dedicated to the cause of neglected children kept growing. Accepting quietly it as the verdict of God for her to be an illegitimate child of unknown parents, she never mentioned this unspoken word following the unwritten, unsaid code of the safe home where children were treated as children without digging merits and demerits of being legitimate or illegitimate. The only legitimacy was compression, compassion, and care of the rejected, desolate children who were unaware of any willing or unwilling reason to be a part of this vast unknown world.

In such an environment, Asha kept growing up, kept studying, and qualifying one class after another. Feeling confident of intelligent first occupant whom they always considered lucky for them, Bina and Tej encouraged Asha to continue her studies and prepare herself to qualify for competitive exams. Here too Asha proved them right by coming to their expectations. She had chosen judicial services. She was motivated by the selflessness of Bina and Tej to make difference in society by caring for the less privileged section of the society. At least she could vouch for herself. They had made a huge difference in her life. They had embraced and nurtured her, and abandoned unknown child, with utmost care. Their only expectation while providing for the basic needs of the inmates of the safe home was that they should not feel abandoned and lonely in the vast world. Asha's accomplishment was rarest of rare but that gave them enough courage and hope to carry on with the mission of providing for abandoned children. Asha had very well realized the importance of good education. She had continued to live with Bina and Tej helping them in their personal as well as social activities concerning children's home. She had proven to be an asset for Bina and Tej. The thought of alienating Asha from them had never crossed their mind. They continued to carry on together in the same way. With Asha's expertise, the children's home improvised, and it was attached with a full-fledged school for the higher education of interested inmates. Periodic visits of medical experts were arranged. Many children continued to be adopted but still many of them were left-back also who continued to grow up there. They were involved in the upkeep of the home. Love and care being the motto, nothing was done under pressure and force. Hence the whole atmosphere was always buzzing with happy and healthy faces.

Tara was one of those inmates who were adopted by needy childless couples and whom Asha herself as a ten-year-old child, had watched Tara being taken away by seemingly a fairy couple. Tara was one of those lucky few who was showered with immense love and care by her adoptive parents Reddys. She was just two year old when she was adopted and put in a good playschool where while playing and learning with different children, memories of her previous foster home was soon erased from her memory and she grew up as a happy and healthy child. Well-to-do Reddys were content to have Tara in their lives. Money was never a constraint for them. Tara was educated in one of the best schools where she learned fast and counted among the most studious and intelligent students. Her school was participating in many national and international games and IQ competitions. Tara won a scholarship for higher education in one such competition. Reddys were overjoyed with Tara's success. She was brought up as their own biological-born child. Always celebrating her birthdays in a grand way, her original birth was never discussed. Reddys were living in a cosmopolitan city where people busy with their own schedule for their decent survival hardly found any time and energy left in themselves to peep into others' personal affairs. An unwritten, unsaid code of respecting the right to privacy is strictly followed. Hence in such an atmosphere, Tara was always taken care of and treated as Reddys' natural-born daughter. Tara always knew Reddys as her own real parents whose love and attention for her was in abundance knowing no boundaries.

All the three Reddys left for Germany for her admission to one of the best colleges for whose scholarship she had qualified. She had already succeeded in her test for the German language which was the pre-requisite. Feeling very proud of her daughter's achievements, Reddys returned back happily after Tara felt settled in new surroundings. Time kept moving on. Tara continued studying, qualifying one class after another, winning one after another scholarship there. There seemed to be no end to her education even after joining a big firm as it's a corporate consultant. Reddy couple kept traveling between both the countries. They were enjoying Tara's success and were ever thankful to God for Tara in their lives. Tara always acknowledged and owed her success to the good grooming she had received from her parents. In such an atmosphere of mutual love, understanding, and appreciation, the family enjoyed a wonderful time together. Then Hans, a German colleague of Tara came into their lives when he sought Reddys' permission to marry Tara. Sauve Hans was long known to Reddys as Tara's colleague who had already impressed Reddy's family whenever they met him during their stay with Tara in Germany. So one fine day Tara and Hans were married. Living together for a few more days, Reddys returned back very satisfied and happy with the way their life with Tara had turned and the way Tara's life had taken shape.

With growing years Reddys' trip to Germany to meet Tara became infrequent. Tara too couldn't come because of her much involvement in her career as well as married life. Then she along with Hans surprised Reddys with their visit. Reddys couldn't have asked more. This was Hans's first visit. They made the best use of those two weeks of togetherness as a family and went around as many places as they could. Reaching fag end of their lives, the Reddy couple had decided to tell the truth of Tara's birth. They had never felt the need to discuss this issue. They had already nominated her as their successor. She was to inherit whatever they owned. Still, their farsightedness was keeping them on alert that if ever somebody in some quarter found out the truth and made a mountain out of mole about Tara's birth and created unforeseen problems for her. She should not feel cheated. They were her adoptive parents, a truth about which she must be made aware! They were also avoiding facing the truth because for them important existence of Tara in their lives was the only truth. Not for a moment, they had seen their role as her adoptive parents. Now when Tara was happily married and well settled in her personal and professional life, they wanted her to know the fact about her birth and adoption. Being apprehensive about the unknown reaction, they were not feeling courageous enough to talk to Tara about it. So when Tara and Hans were packing for the journey back, Reddys gave all the documents related to her birth, adoption, her nomination as their successor, and finally inheritance papers in case of any eventuality happening to them. They told her to keep those documents concerning inheritance issues with her safely. Tara took the envelope, hugged her parents wishing them long, healthy life, and told them not to worry about her facing any problem ever. The envelope was found on the writing-table in Tara's room by Reddys after Tara and Hans had boarded the flight. Tara refusing to believe in any separation from her parents had left the envelope there intentionally. The Reddy couple exchanged knowing, quiet smiles with each other.

Years slipped by. Reddy couple had grown quite old. Tara and her husband Hans continued visiting them whenever possible. The envelope was never mentioned again among themselves although it remained unopened in a drawer of the same writing table. During one such visit to her parents, Tara nonchalantly opened the envelope and read through the documents. With a jolt, she came out of deep slumber! Motionless she kept staring into infinity. The exposed truth about her birth had hit her hard. Suddenly she felt ashamed of herself for taking Reddys' indulgence as her birthright. She was brought up and was living in an environment where the word illegitimate child had no validity, no legal backing. One of the hard-hitting catastrophe of the World Wars and other wars were a large number of forlorn children whose parentage was never known. Hence the abolition of the word illegitimate to use for children came into vogue. Tara wasn't worried about or ashamed of being an illegitimate child. Her immediate thought was for Reddys whose magnanimity had engulfed her thoroughly and who always made her feel like their own legitimate child. Decisively she got up, went to Reddys, and hugged them affectionately, warmly. Reddys immediately understood everything by looking at the open envelope in Tara's hand. All three of them were clinging to one another in an understanding which only they could feel. 

Tara convinced Reddys to let her donate a large chunk of her inheritance to a safe home for children from where she was adopted by Reddys. She and her husband Hans decided not to have any biological child of their own. They planned to adopt two children to make difference in their lives as experienced by Tara in her life. In a way, this was also their way of showing gratitude to the Almighty for showering them with a blessed life in spite of being ignorant of Tara's biological parents. On one fine day, all four of them went to bring two abandoned newly borns when informed by the same safe home for the children. Bina and Tej had handed over the management to Asha. She didn't take much time to recognize the Reddy couple, the fairy couple of her childhood. She couldn't recognize Tara who was of course a well-groomed lady and whose life story had turned out like a fairy tale. Still thinking about fairies, happily smilingly, she handed over the newly borns to Tara who at once took them to her bosom. Without caring for the legitimacy or illegitimacy of children, both Asha and Tara were confident of a brighter future for the children as long as children were treated as children, innocent and purest creation of God unaware of the meaning and hassles of a legitimate or illegitimate child.