Little and not so little children follow me everywhere I go. They pretend to be grown up, wail, babble, smile, talk, absorb the world, or sit around pucker-faced, quiet. Travelling by bus, train and then a walk down Mahim's slum-cluttered street each morning leaves never a dull moment. Somedays, I see little children engaged in some mindless game or the other. Sitting atop a broken chair with wheels still intact and being dragged across the concrete. The other day, I saw a lost little boy on his first train ride. He watched in quiet fascination. Not a sound. And, then someday I talk or smile at these little children and I love it when they smile back. Like the little boy in the train who urged me to buy a picture book. And, surprised me by reading out in English! Or, perhaps the football playing kids outside my office who tease, wave out and always manage a smile. Somedays, I meet angelic little girls, so elegantly poised, bratty boys who talk big, and some sensible young girls, I'm all in love with. I watch how they move their fingers, do a little dance, move their lips, curl their toes.
Oh yes, I want babies.