Waking up to a morning Azaan is the most beautiful sound that stirs my soul. It takes me to another world that's full of serenity and love.
Mentioning the word 'allah' comes so naturally to a Hindu like me, it’s no surprise.
Growing up, most of my friends were Muslims and Catholics. All of this felt only ordinary to me as a child. I was respected for my choices and not told otherwise.
I believe we cannot teach our kids to love or hate. Their minds are as pure as their souls. They don't even know they could or couldn’t make friends based on religion, colour or creed! They are purely born with the intention of loving and receiving love. It is very typical of my four year old to keep kissing my cheek and hugging me at every interval for no reason. This is what they are and they need. Purely Love.
As parents what we can do is only to empower the 'humanitarian' in them. Let them choose their friends. Let them love and like who they want. We cannot let them differentiate or influence them to choose who they want to talk to or be friends with. Unless and until the kids are threatened for their lives in wrong company or getting into unethical practices we must not interfere in them choosing their friends.
While my child is previliged to study in a school with kids of known personalities, I get equally happy to see him play with my maids kids and share meals whenever they come home. They need not be taught, the life of the child who stepped out of a Beamer outside his school matters more than the one who doesn't even own a bicycle!
My ten year old 'chicken popcorn' lover has some staunch vegetarian best friends. I m proud of him, the way he respects their space and their choices and never talks about eating his favorite food in their company. Infact, he once told me how he would like to follow a tradition that his friends do and fast for a day to support them. The choice was his, totally. I not once felt necessary to influence his mind on what we follow as traditions at home, or expected him to only follow the same!
Being boys, I ensure they do all the work that a patriarchal society would mostly deem only girls do. I do not believe in this gender bias, and never even comes up in our daily conversations at home, even remotely. While I teach them to be strong, I also show them the importance of respecting their emotions. It doesn't make the 'little man' in them weaker by crying or projecting their fears out in open. It only makes them more Human.
So as a parent I am not going to teach my child to discriminate based on religion, colour, creed, caste, sexuality or gender. When they choose love over hatred as a natural tendency from birth, why fill their innocent minds with duality. Infact hate, fear, anger, jealousy are only artificially instilled in them, through our direct and indirect actions and words and are a direct consequence of the environment we choose to create for them through their childhood.
Like they say teach them right and teach them young. They are our future and let's make it bright.