Cry In The Womb

Although she felt very safe in the familiar surroundings where every bit of her comfort was taken care of. The best diet and a natural thin but strong cover to protect her from any danger. She was cushioned in the safest, purest floating waters yet she yearned to be part of the outer world which hitherto she had been watching from the most secure place. Before venturing out she tried to take a survey of the set-up outside. She saw much hustle-bustle, people busy in doing something or the other, walking, talking, shopping, laughing, or simply loitering here and there. Cuddled cozily, she wondered what keeps them going, what fascinates them, and what keeps them alive out there! Their attires were different, their appearances were different, they were speaking different languages yet their actions of sitting, standing, walking, talking, smiling, laughing eating, breathing, sleeping, waking, etc. were in a uniform pattern. Everything appeared to move in perfect harmony. In her own way, she was also in perfect harmony with her surroundings. There ended the similarity until... 

She came across a family where the family members were very abusive to one another. Poverty was the only reason. Unable to make both ends meet, irritated, drunkard elders were often beating the young children, making them work or beg because it was beyond their financial capacity to fend for themselves. If ever the kids indulged in any game or amusement, they were given harsh punishment as if it was their fault to be in this world. They were made to feel that their existence in the world depended upon begging or working hard to earn their livelihood. The more the merrier seemed perfect motto for such families because more children would be asked to bring money by begging or doing whatever manual work they could find out. There was no gender discrimination. Girl or boy, they were required to fend for themselves and for other family members too. There was no laxity, no special treatment for being a girl or a boy. No one was considered tougher or more delicate than the other. She felt repulsive to such pathetic living and looked for better living. 

And then there it was... apparently a better scene. It was not like finding it hard to make both ends meet. Life was comparatively comfortable but there were huge prejudices against girlchild. Sons were preferred over daughters. Better care, better education, and best pampering were special prerogatives of the sons. Some of them turned out to be intelligent enough to reciprocate such loving feelings to their families when they grew up but most of them grew up as spoilt brats, taking care and attention as their birthright with no obligation towards family or society. They grew up with a superiority complex with not much respect towards women whom they often labeled as the weaker sex. It was a pathetic scene. Everything better, whether daily meals and fruit or dresses or education, was preferred for the male child than the female child. There was not an iota of shame in showering overwhelming love and affection over the sons who were considered sunshine of the families. It was disgusting to see women themselves behaving badly towards their own sex as if it was a crime to be a woman. On top of it, the women themselves were killing the female fetus strung by the social stigma attached to a male heir or their own repulsion to give birth to the girl child. She could hear their cry in the womb pleading, praying to let them survive, to let them live. 

Pondering over the world scenario, she got a jolt which opened her eyes widely. There she found no difference between males and females. They were treated equally and were given equal opportunities for education and a healthy environment. They were competing in every field and surpassing each other purely on basis of merit and intelligence. Sometimes somewhere both women & men were keen to cross the line for establishing their supremacy. Many a time this led to an unnecessary and unwanted confrontation between both the sexes. It was to be the battle of minds and intellect where the superior one automatically established the superiority but, instead it became the battle of egos where each sex considered herself/himself superior to the other. Now, what type of progressive attitude could it be! Human minds irrespective of gender had made so many innovations and created wonders, making changes to make day-to-day life comfortable but the rivalry for establishing supremacy among scattered and divided in different nations all over the globe was making it insignificant. The constant exploitation of normal nature had made the huge technological progress look minuscule. 

Fed up with the complexities of the materialistic world, people began to seek solace in different religious scriptures. After all billions of years, old scriptures were still relevant. Maybe their interpretation over the period had made them obsolete but there has to be truly hidden in them that people had rediscovered their relevance. There was no gender-based bias in that era. Men and women were equal wheels on which social structure evolved and moved on. There was never discrimination between the two. Rather the women were respected and worshipped also for the inherent procreation power in them and that procreation power sustained the world. She was the embodiment of endurance, love, and care while undergoing the process of keeping a child in her womb for nine months. The sacrifices that a woman makes for the safety of her child whether in the womb or out in the world are matchless. Maternal instincts and care are the purest, selfless love anyone can feel. 

Undoubtedly now technological advancement has made it possible to control the birth and the sex of a child can also be known and determined. The evolution, the improvement in any field are made for the welfare of social structure. The pregnancy tests developed in modern times are for the well-being of the child in the womb. She was aghast to see women undergoing those tests to find the sex of the child in the womb. Millions of female fetuses were killed inside the womb only. Their only unknown, innocent crime was that they were female embryos! The safest place in the world was no longer allowed to be safe even for the unborn child! Lata was petrified, confused, and worried whether she should give birth to her child in such a world. She had wanted her yet-to-be-born child to be blessed with heavenly blessings. She would read holy scriptures and meditate a lot while carrying the child in her womb. She was highly impressed by Abhimanyu's story that he had learned the art of cracking Chakravyuh (Labyrinth) of Mahabharata War while still in his mother Subhdra's womb when his father great Pandav warrior was telling Subhdra about entering and exiting War Labyrinth. 

Lata was very well aware of the scientifically proven fact that the child in the womb gets affected by the surroundings and the thoughts of the mother. She would often talk lovingly and happily to the baby in the womb. She would feel highly delighted whenever she stroked softly her womb to feel the floating baby inside. Without undergoing a sex determination test and relying on her instincts, she named her unborn child Khusi. She felt inspired by the glorious position of the bygone era and strong, successful, capable women in the modern era... woman an embodiment of charm, grace, compassion, and love! The mere presence of a woman invoked soft feelings of either securing her or feeling secure under her caring observation. Her presence made the world beautiful! 

Lata was ready to deliver her baby in the beautiful world, a magnificent creation of God. Meanwhile, the embryo the fetus which had developed into a child in her womb who was witnessing from inside, every ongoing activity of the outside world began to feel restless. She wanted to be a part of the outer world. She knew the fact that everyone was going to die one day whether inside the womb for being a female fetus or in the outer world because of the law of nature. She was lucky to be in the womb of an emancipated woman who had nurtured her with limitless love and care and vibed positivity with her every move in the womb. Every day she was made to feel that she was needed for the continuation of the beautiful world inside and outside. Both mother and baby in the womb pushed hard to be together. Baby struggling to come out of womb and mother keen to bring her out in the world... and finally, there was the result... combined efforts of both culminated in loud cry announcing the birth of Lata's bundle of joy - Khusi!