12 October 1956

“Dear Diary

I’m sorry for not writing to you for the last few days. I got caught up in something”, a little girl was scribbling in her diary.

“LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE…”, the words magically appeared on the diary.

“Ok Ok let me confess. I was not busy but just hesitant to pen down the emotions that have been boiling inside me after last week’s incident”, said the little girl, feeling caught in her lies.

“I think I need a fresh perspective here. So let’s do some reality check”, the girl decided to take the HOW MUCH YOU KNOW KAVYA test.

“Show me my present age”, Kavya was ready for a rapid-fire.

Few pages automatically turned over and the diary highlighted “Age – 15years”

“Good girl”, said Kavya patting the diary.

“Let’s skip the easy questions and let me ask you a difficult one. Tell me what’s my deepest desire?”, Kavya was now putting loyalty at the test.

Few pages turned over to infinity like sign and words start to appear

“To explore your unlimited nature”, reflected the diary.

“Hmm. Ain’t you a darling!

 Who knows me inside-out? It’s only you, my love.” Kavya placed the diary close to her heart.

Meanwhile, the little girl was called by her mum for lunch.

********

“Dear Diary

I ate Lasagne for dinner. Ooh Yummy

See I brought you some.” said the girl as she made a painting out of lasagne on a blank page on the diary.

“Ooh really yummy”, the diary savoured the lasagne and the blot on the page disappeared.

“Kavya…Kavya…Beta why are you spilling lasagne on the stationary”, admonished her mum when she saw the child giggling and spilling food over the diary.

 

“You are stationary for them. But for me you are as mobile as my thoughts”, chuckled Kavya on the clever play of words. 

******

Dear Diary

When will I grow up? I’m fed up of being small and a weakling.

A small tear dropped on the page.

“Tell me about it, don’t cry like a baby. You know that your secret is safe with me.”, a sentence emerged in the bold calligraphic font on the page.

 

“I don’t like Uncle taking me to his lap. I don’t want to sit. So I want to grow up. Big girls don’t sit on laps”, said innocent Kavya rubbing her little puffed eyes.

“Punch him, Kavya. If you won’t, I will. I swear I will tell your Mum if he touches you one more time. I swear to the mighty tree, I will ink his face”, words in anger started appearing in the diary.

The little girl hugged her diary, wept and slept holding the diary in her hands.

*****

Next day her mother came to wake her up.

It was unusual of Kavya to sleep for so long.

She found her lying on the bed with her diary.

She quietly lifted the diary in her hands.

It was wet because of the tears.

Her mother was startled. What made her little girl cry so much, she thought.

She felt tempted to open the diary.

But soon the thought of violating the child’s privacy came to her conscience.

Kavya woke up. She found her diary near her table. A shiver went through her spine. “Mum must have read her diary”, she thought.

She went to her mother and sat on her lap.

The writing has been the only way of communicating perfectly with Kavya who was born mute.

Gestures and sign languages were also used but that wasn’t her style. She felt more human while communicating via writing.

So, She slowly moved her hands towards her mother and gave her a note. Her hands were shivery and she mustered all the courage that was there in her little heart. “Mumma I don’t want to sit on uncle’s lap’, the note said.

Her mother understood the whole matter and felt really guilty about knowing what her child had to go through because of little ignorance.

She hugged Kavya hard and apologised to her like a million times. In those times, there was hardly any concern over THE GOOD TOUCH AND THE BAD TOUCH.

But the seed for change had been sown in the young mind of Kavya. 

************************

12 October 2012

Dear Diary

“I think I need a fresh perspective here. So let’s do some reality check”, the woman decided to take the time-tested HOW MUCH YOU KNOW KAVYA test.

 

“Show me my present age”, said the woman holding her reading glasses.

Few pages automatically turned over and the diary highlighted “Age – 51 years”

“Good girl”, the woman patted the diary-like a puppy.

“Now time for some deep search. Tell me what is my deepest desire?”, the woman looked at her watch while sipping her latte.

“Hmmn…To bring a stringent law against child molesters and creating mass awareness about child abuse amongst Parents”, showed the diary in her usual ways.

The woman picked up her files tagged POCSO, put on her black robe and moved to the courtroom. 

“All rise”, said a law enforcement officer.

She sat peacefully on the judge’s seat and the hearing began.