A promise - To Bring Back the Touch

" Oh God, getting late. P will you please make me some breakfast." I shouted as I finished ironing my dress and rushed to the bathroom. P folded the newspaper he was reading and went to the kitchen without a word. 15 minutes later when I was dressed and ready, I had 4 slices with an omelette and hot coffee in front of me. I hogged in a hurry again. The phone rang. Somebody was getting late for a flight and he requested to get his boarding pass ready. Come on; did not you know you were booked on this flight and keeping in mind the Mumbai rush hour traffic, you should have started accordingly..I muttered under my breath as I dialed the airport manager's number. I just hogged the omlette and 2 slices, took few sips of the coffee and rushed out. I barely uttered "Bye Love" and ran. By the time I was down the stairs my phone rang again. I was speaking on the phone when I hailed an auto and left to the station. It was only when I was about to reach the station I realized I didn't look up as we always do, towards our balcony. I mean, it was an unspoken understanding between us. Whenever either of us goes out he / I would look up to the balcony and wave. Shit..How did I forget that. I so wanted to return but my professional commitments did not allow me to.


That evening when I reached home, I saw P sitting and watching TV. Being a free lancer; P's work hours are not regular. Whole day I couldn't forget I what I didn't do that morning. I was determined to say sorry and make it up by cooking his favourite dish for dinner. When I went to the kitchen I could see the chicken marinated. P said that he would make my favourite chicken that night. Wasnot he upset..I asked. I felt all the more guilty. Why did he have to do that. I almost forgot that that's why I had fallen in love with him. For his patience, his big heart and his forgiving nature. The love of my life, my man. I hugged him tight and said sorry. He held me gently and make me sit at the sofa. We talked and that was after so long that we actually talked. We both realized we needed to slow down. We both needed to find the person in each other that we had fallen in love with. We needed to touch each other. We needed to bring back the warmth to our relationship And most important of all we both needed to support each other in this. We promised each other that we will and we must #BringBackTheTouch that seem to have lost somewhere along the way.




 

The Bad Touch by Payal Shah Karwa

It could have been a Saturday like any weekend when  husband has work and I spent the weekend home alone, doing nothing much but still be super busy in doing nothing! But yesterday was a different saturday. Though I get to know about few bloggers meet in the city, I never had the chance to attend one. But this one caught my attention. The event was Preview of a book called "The Bad Touch". Written by Payal Shah Karwa, The Bad Touch talks about the sensitive issue of Child Sex Abuse ( CSA) and tells the stories of survivors like Harish Iyer, Amrita Purkayastha, Anurag Kashyap and few others Divya ( alias)Lata(Alias) Nidhi ( Alias) and Mrunalini ( Alias). The book also shares some practical information and technical guidelines for parents sourced from the NGO Arpan . So I was there on a Saturday afternoon at Cafe Infinito, Bandra Kurla Complex looking forward to an interactive session with the author and fellow bloggers.

Payal Shah Karwa
Photo courtesy : Dwitiy Revankar

The event was moderated by Kiran Manral and in the discussion were Payal, the author, Harish Iyer, noted social activist and Puja Taparia, Founder and CEO of Arpan; who offers a helping hand to victims of CSA and is trying to create awareness towards the same.In attendance was a large group of bloggers from across Mumbai. The session was highly interactive and insightful.

Kiran, Payal,Harish and Puja
Photo courtesy : Dwitiy Revankar

Child Sex Abuse - is a very touching and a highly sensitive issue.The author spent almost 5 years in researching and preparing the stories for this book. This meant treading  on a very slippery path, as she had to deal with individuals who went through such harrowing experiences that one may not ever imagine. To ask them about those could lead to the opening of a flood gate which may threaten the present. For obvious reasons, many people did not want to share their real identity. There are others like Harish Iyer , Anurag Basu and Amrita Purkayastha who suffered but not only survived but thrived from their experiences. They are no more victims but they emerged victorious from the agony. 

When asked why she decided to write a book on such a subject, Payal replied that she wanted to write about something which is socially relevant rather than fiction or romance. Harish Iyer was also her inspiration when she met him for the first time in 2006 in a Child Sex Abuse awareness programme and learnt about CSA and the man himself. In her own words  " I was looking to write a book about a real story which would add value to the society and millions around the world. Child Sex Abuse was an issue which was grossly being ignored by the Government,the Law and Society as a whole. I chose to write on CSA inspired by Harish Iyer and his story."

Harish Iyer
Photo courtesy : Dwitiy Revankar

The stories in the Bad Touch shock and at times numb the reader. The book also tries to equip the guardians or parents with sufficient and necessary information to fight against this menace. 
This is the time to talk,share and create awareness about CSA. Donot hesitate to point out if you think something is wrong in the relationship between a child and the care taker, be it a parent, grand parent, relatives and anyone around.Raise your voice. Educate your child or any child you know of about the good touch , the bad touch; the safe touch, the unsafe touch; the right touch, the wrong touch. Teach them to protest and thus protect themselves.