I want to begin by sharing how the meeting with Mr ND Tiwari happened on March 3. As you know, my paternity case against him was in the last stages and a final hearing was due.
But Mr Tiwari wanted an out-of-court settlement. And he sent feelers to us but I was against it. I wanted to fight this battle legally. Because only then I could get my due.
My mother Ujjwala Sharma got information through some friends that Mr Tiwari's health is deteriorating. So she asked me to go and see him once but I refused. Meanwhile, we got to know that Mr Tiwari is coming to Delhi for treatment. My mother again urged me to meet him once. I said, 'If you want you can meet him, but I won't go.'
She met him, came back and told me that his condition was really bad and that his hands were shaking. Not as a son, but as a human being, that news moved me and I decided to meet him. Though our case was in court and I was advised against meeting him, I decided to check on him.
He was staying at Uttarakhand Bhawan in Delhi. I went there with my mother and entered his room confidently. I didn't bother who saw me or if someone asked me to stop. The moment Mr Tiwari saw me, he started crying. Tears came rolling down his cheeks. And this went on for an hour. I had last met him nine years ago, but that night I saw he had suddenly aged a lot. Though he was in his 80s when I last met him, that night he looked frail, his hands were shaking and he was not even able to speak properly. A lump came into my throat.
He then hugged me and I couldn't control my tears. All three of us were crying. He gave me a shawl and put a Nehru topi on my head. His staff said, 'Arre sir, yeh toh aapki carbon copy hain.' I then asked him 'Why are you doing this? We've fought for so many years now, what else do you want? Why don't you accept me as your son?' He immediately said, 'Haan haan, bilkul. Main tayyar hoon. Bula lo sabko (Yes, absolutely. I am ready. Let's announce it)'. I again asked him 'Are you sure?' He said, 'Yes.' And you know the rest.
I don't know why he did this. I'm not sure if it was because of elections, all I can say is something divine happened that day.
But after that meeting, I haven't been able to sit with him properly. There have been interviews, he is also busy. His health is also not good. We have been speaking on the phone though.
We are now planning to appear in court together, as a family, so that I can use my father's name legally. We'll do that as soon as Mr Tiwari comes to Delhi next. He has said he will come, my mother has gone to Lucknow to meet him.
In this country, you still need your father's name. That is how the law works. And as a litigant, I also want to urge our whole legal fraternity to avoid calling a child 'illegitimate' in the courts. You don't know how much that child has to suffer when he grows up. If something happened between a man and a woman, how is it the child's fault? Why stigmatise him? I urge the courts to consider my request. Also, I think no woman should be called "unchaste" in courts of law. If my mother was unchaste, what about Mr Tiwari?
I don't hold a grudge against Mr Tiwari now. I forgave him the day he hugged me. I guess yoga and meditation has helped me a lot in developing this attitude. Used to get angry at the drop of a hat, but I'm calmer now.
There are many things which I like and want to learn from Mr Tiwari. Like his temperament. Also, he has a photographic memory and I have inherited that from him.
He has also done nasty things in his life and I don't want to be like him in that respect. I also hate the way he treated a woman like my mother. And me. But all this is left behind now, don't want to relive that pain. I now want to focus on positive things and ask him about his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi etc.
Lastly, I want to say that if Mr Tiwari asks me to join politics, I will do that. Because politics is also a wonderful way to serve people. But I will enter politics or contest an election only if Mr Tiwari asks me to. And if he plans to contest the election, I'm ready to campaign for him.
One final thing I want to say is: during this whole legal battle and my struggle, I heard many people say 'This is all drama.' To them, I want to say that 'it's not a filmy drama, this is my life.'
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