Radheshyam works as an auto-rickshaw driver in Mumbai. He meets different people every day and some talk nicely to him and some are rough and rude. He is not bothered as he knows his profession does not engage with nice people all the time.

His auto looks like others and like many auto-rickshaw drivers Radheshyam sings while driving. He has a picture of a cute girl placed in his auto and while driving he keeps looking at her. Out of curiosity I asked him, “she is your daughter, right”.

He smiled, “she is my FIRST CHILD, Koyal”. First child, I smiled, how many children do you have? I asked him. “I have only one child and Koyal is my first child”. “So how long you have been married”, I asked him. “I am not married. Actually I was married but not married now. My wife left me just two years after the marriage”, Radheshyam was smiling and talking. People often smile while talking about this state of mind. His smile had satisfaction and contentment of coming back to single status, the bachelorhood, but then this child.

Radheshyam was ready with a reply, “sir, I have adopted Koyal and she is my life-support. She does not know she has been adopted and I don’t tell her also. Why should I? I adopted her just 2 months after my wife left”. But my question was why he is saying “Koyal is the first child”. “Sir, I am adopting another child, this time a boy to complete my family.

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