Anandi, Ankik, Shilpa, Rajiv and others

I did not know you. But now I do. I know how you felt when you went to school for the first time.And when exams came. And when you went to see a film. Or when you curled up to read a book.When you laughed at a PJ, or when you had an Ice Cream. When you appeared on a stage for the first time. When the wind blew in from the Ganges and the black clouds came down and the first rains fell from the skies on your upturned faces.When you held your own camera in your hand and lovingly brushed your fingers over it. When you took your first real photograph.When you studied for your Board Exams and the apprehensions before it. When your results were declared. when you joined IIT or BIT Mesra. The discussions before joining Fergusson in Pune in English. And the film shoot. And the impromptu singing. And the holiday travels. And the discussions…And the laughter..And Life itself.

For I have a daughter and a son who went through this. Up to this I know you, as every parent will, wherever they may be. But after that I do not know you or ever will. As neither will I ever comprehend the machinations in the mind of those who did what they did. For they are incomprehensible. I only know that if a collective will of the human race is a force, then they will be squashed underneath it.

I did not know you. I now do. I know your families and their pain and the tears. The passage of time is inevitable.Your potential will never be realised. But you will be there in us, in our actions as we strive to correct a terrible wrong.

Yes, I know you.

We will always know you.