“MAY YOU BE THE MOTHER OF A HUNDRED SONS!”
In our nation, this was the most primal blessing sought for in the days of yore (in the era of the Mahabharata and even earlier). Even now with modernisation and development, if not 100, a son still marks happiness in many Indian families (may be more in villages). Gandhari (the epic queen of Mahabharatha) was blessed with the said honour, but all her 100 sons turned out to be criminals!!
The onus, I guess lies on the parents, relatives and society in general, so as to raise their children (whether son or daughter) to be responsible, sensitive and caring human beings.
A simple story I have heard when I was a child: there was a son who used to indulge in petty crimes like stealing, copying etc etc, as a child. The mother although she knew of this, would brush it aside stating that he would come out of it as he gets older. As he grew up, he continued these which turned out to be much bigger crimes. Finally he was caught and jailed and as his distraught mother came to see him, he regretted his doings and blamed his mother for not nipping his bad ways in the bud. This story although simple and childlike, drove home the point that most of the time criminals are created by us.
“In the eyes of parents I think children always seem just a blink away from redemption. No matter to what depths we watch them sink, we believe they need only grasp the lifeline and we can pull them safely to shore.” as stated by a delinquent youth’s father.
That was cute and typical of children...just when you don’t expect the unexpected...😂