TMD~ chapter 18
Hi Rosie,
Fantastic to see that Nakusha is making headway with Dutta, slowly but firmly..also shows her determination in tackling his set ways.. his fixed temperament of living life his way. Holi, with it's colours !rejoicing in the world with our loved ones is a great way forward for Nakusha to gently coerce him out of his colourless malaise.
Such an endearing scene between both of them wishing Holi to each other.. the green colour he chooses is to me a positive green signal for his personal relationship with his newly wedded wife..life seems to smiling all around him..what with him coming to terms with annay's interaction with his peers as well..
The forced inclusion of himself in holi celebrations is a joyous read, especially the references to the cadence of the drum, and forced consumption of bhang.. all in good fun..
I had anticipated that since he is high and wound up by the event of Holi.. kind of keeping up appearances...but he will crack tonight.
Rose, must commend you for using characters in this story to throw light on child abuse/molestation. It is a bold subject and in many cultures and societies it's brushed under the carpet. Nine out of ten.. the abuser is someone close, family, neighbour, or someone in place of trust and duty of care.The abuser.. as you show in the story thrives on emotionally black mailing the abused.. another bold yet prevalent fact is raising awareness of rape.. with a gender deviation from only female to male. In certain societies and cultures where sexual permissiveness is discouraged.. young boys are abused readily to curb desires of older males.
Damoder, carrying about the abuse before his friends.. is even more alarming.. goes to show it's a group of men who are in the business of running such a heinous racket! obviously it's a matter of mutual interests..sad.. shocking but not unheard of.
Rosie the chapter shows the anguish of the young abused Dutta.. scarred for god knows how long..?but the chapter does to me.. give the message that adults in care of children, need to be aware of child's tell-tale signs, withdrawn generally both at school, sudden loss of appetite, underachieving academically, bed wetting.. disrupted sleep... may be other medical reasons too.. but carers need to be alert. Carers, talk to your child about.. different types of "touch", "touching" the good touch, a hug ,a kiss.. but then talk about the touch..hug.. kiss that makes the child uncomfortable... teach the child in care to inform the carer parent, if some one says to the child.."this is our little secret ".. threats..
In this chapter, you have clearly denounced sexual abuse/rape in no uncertain way. You have shown the emotional scars of abuse in Dutta's other wise normal successful business routine.. after learning about his past all the pieces that make up his persona in the story fall into place..
So my dear rosie.. hammie , lauds your effort in raising awareness of such an common, yet unspoken issue of our society.. well woven into the story.
Please continue .. much love for a thought provoking chapter, fantastically written.
Yours hammie.