Bravo Tusshar!

How could Tusshar Kapoor not have told me about his secret marriage all this while?

India is experiencing societal change rapidly, and for the better. When my dear friend Tusshar Kapoor announced the arrival of his son, Laksshya, I was upset and shocked. How could Tusshar not have told me about his secret marriage all this while? Or did he have a child out of wedlock? Not that I have anything against the latter but I’m the sort that likes to be an integral part of a friend’s life and know everything about what’s happening with him or her. I had typed out an angry message to send him till I learnt that he had decided to fulfil his overpowering paternal instincts by having a child through surrogacy using IVF. I deleted the irate text immediately and sent a heartfelt one congratulating him.

I feel like a proud friend. I have known Tusshar for more than 15 years, in fact even before his first film released. He is a simple, compassionate and loving boy, and will make for a sensitive and nurturing father. His brave, bold and unconventional decision to be a single parent has made a very important statement — Indian men are ready to shoulder the task of parenting without a partner. His move will open the doors of assisted reproduction to those who fervently desire a baby but don’t necessarily crave the attachment (or headache) of a partner, and also to those who cannot conceive naturally for medical reasons. With marriage rapidly losing its relevance in modern society, a move of the ilk by a public figure gives hope and an impetus to single male and female members to embrace and enjoy parenthood. Look at Sushmita Sen — she’s capably raising two daughters without a father. We salute single mothers so why not raise a toast to single fathers?

Adoption, and now surrogacy, are both great options to exercise. Marital status should have nothing to do with the right to become a parent. Bravo Tusshar!

Tailpieces

1) A referendum is an inappropriate electoral system for a democracy. Populism makes for a lame basis to decide on a subject that has far-reaching dimensions on a nation’s health and well-being. Alarmed with the result, even Brits who voted to leave the EU, are now seeking a second referendum to turn around a decision that could easily leave Britain isolated and struggling with fiscal pain. The fury among those who had voted to stay is palpable. The English have had a belated realisation that there exists no roadmap for the so-called glorious tomorrow and no remedy to tackle the aftermath that some have called the most disastrous single event in British history since the Second World War. The morons who were quick in celebrating at the pub are suffering from an uncomfortable hangover. Not surprisingly, after Brexit, the EU bloc appears to have turned unusually aggressive and is displaying the rancour of the truly scorned. For starters, a senior EU lawmaker has already started championing the somewhat impractical cause of removing English as the official language of the EU. At this rate, it is only a matter of time before the EU finds itself disintegrated too.

2) The cold-blooded murder of a distinguished musician, Amjad Sabri, and that too, in the midst of Ramazan, depicts everything that is wrong with Pakistan. Anyone seen eating food in public during the holy month is a criminal, yet human slaughter by a terrorist group finds no meaningful fix by the government.

3) I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall when Lady Gaga (covered from head to toe for a change) met the Dalai Lama. It seems they met to discuss topics like kindness, compassion, yoga and mental health. The less said, the better.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2016.

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