One place i'd never want to be in...

is being the parents of these boys.Over the last week, everyday, i get up to very descriptive narrations of the event, what transpired, timelines...pretty much everything i wouldn't really want to know.

The first reaction as always is anger, on wondering how foolish can people get. Over the weekend , somehow this has turned to angst - for the parents of these boys. The reports have been detailing the background of these boys, their parents and there seem to be clear divide...a bunch that had a reputation, and one bunch who were the 'boys next door'.

How does one react when they find out that their child- is a rapist/ theif/ murderer.., someone on the wrong side of law? Do they succumb to first instincts and protect they from the world, or do the right thing- emotions be damned?

As the mother of a boy...this question haunts me. Once you are a parent, the focus of your life shifts to bringing up this little person at home- teaching them right and wrong,preparing them to face the world that waits outside, showing them the various paths life takes,teaching them to be respect and honour women,showing them to act as good humans- isn't education all about this?

Then the child becomes 18 or 20 and leaves home...and all you can hope for is that the values you passed on, the little things you believed and preached to them will hold good.I do belive that the atmosphere and upbringing one has had has a lot of 'influence' in the person's character.

But just' influence'. It does not ultimately determine how a person turns out to be. That scares me.

I stayed in a hostel from the age of 15-20. The first time away from home,first time in a mixed college. It was a new world altogether. For someone from a quite, laid back village in kerala- the metro was a revelation. So much of freedom, so much to do, and no-one to admonish. I have seen friends and classmates sway either ways- some who believed their value systems and stayed course. Some very capable one's taking the freedom a little too much, and end up on the wayside. I was fortunate to have the sense to stay my course- a lot of it had to do with the family, but hey, it could have gone otherwise.

There are people i know who relate to these boys in question- and no, they were not from affluent families and such.For them , it was making the most of opportunity when it presented.Principles be damned- "Who's going to know anyway?"was the standard response.

The only people who have my sympathies in this entire drama are the parents of those boys- torn between the urge to protect their kid from the world and lay him bare to the world for what he has done. That must be so difficult.

15 years from now on, or maybe earlier, i will send off a boy from my house into the world- all by himself. While i will pray that he has the strength and resilience to brave the world, i will also pray that he turns into a 'good human being'- someone who knows his place in the world and respects it. And god forbid- if faced with a situation like this- have the courage and conviction to do the right thing.

What else does one do?