The Crime That We All Committed

Masooma Ranalvi July 28, 2008 00:00 IST The Crime That We All Committed -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

I write this piece as someone close to the Talwars. Aarushi was my daughter Fiza's best friend. I have seen the two girls grow up since prep. As parents, we interacted quite frequently—during school annual days, at parent-teacher meetings and those regular exchanges outside the school gate almost everyday. Of the several parents I have interacted with over the years, what made the Talwars so endearing was their guileless, open demeanour, their gentle, soft-spoken manner, and their willingness to help. Since my daughter was so close to Aarushi, it was natural for us to meet the Talwars socially.

The morning of May 16, 2008, was the darkest in our lives. I got this panic call from my daughter in school. Between sobs, she asked me to pick her up from school. Fearing the worst, I ran in panic to the school, to hear the gruesome news.

Since that fateful morning, I have spent a huge amount of time with the Talwars, talking to them, crying with them, trying to give them solace, to help them bear the worst possible tragedy that any parent...