The poster on the wall outside confirms that we’ve arrived.
Bacche ko fekein nahi, hamein dein
Bina pehchaan bataaye paalne mein chhod jaayein
Don’t ditch the child, give them to us
Leave them in the crib, anonymously
Beneath the poster, there’s a switch that presumably sets off a bell somewhere in the building and an ageing printout with a request:
Paalne mein daalne ke baad kripya bell bajayein.
Please ring the bell after you’ve placed the child in the cradle.
The cradle, its best days behind it, is off to one side, in what may once have been a small garden but is now untended foliage. With uncertainty and no little trepidation, we climb the weathered steps to one of India’s 463 (as per 2020–2021 data) Specialised Adoption Centres (SAA). We’re here, my partner and I, to meet our adoptive daughter for the first time. In recent years, adoption centres and childcare homes in India have been at the centre of scandals ranging from neglect or physical and sexual abuse to trafficking. Security is understandably tight. At the top of the stairs, a burly guard opens the grilled iron gate, hovering over us as we enter our details into a well-worn lined notebook.
More from Mekong Review
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Snacking in Calcutta
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Hindu-Muslim relations are worsening across India. There have been no rumblings of communal strife in Kadayanallur yet, but news from elsewhere creates ripples of anxiety and worry.
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Where it all started for the writer.
- Tags: Abhishek Mehrotra, India, Issue 36