Ahead of World Adoption Day (November 9), Pune-based author Kalyani Sardesai Monday announced that the second edition of her book, Child Of My Heart: A Comprehensive Guide to Adoption in India, has been launched online and the print edition would be out soon.
“The… second edition will have as its highlights the frustrations and bottlenecks caused by Covid-19 which have only made the queues longer. The pain and endless wait of the prospective parents is something that cannot be ignored,” said Sardesai. The author added the proceeds from the sale of her book would go to charity.
Divided into four sections, the voluminous book looks at the adoption process in India from all possible angles: emotional, social, psychological, and legal. “The purpose of writing this book was to simplify how and why things work the way they do in our country. In many ways, the concept of both family and parenting are individualized and, therefore, references from the West may not always work for us,” said Sardesai, adding that she is a “thoroughly-fulfilled adoptive parent”.
Keeping in mind that ‘adoption is a lifelong process’ and that the journey of a family and a child only begins at the end of a tedious wait, there is a detailed section devoted to the voices of adoptive parents and adoptees.
The author has taken a closer look at the Centralized Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), a statutory body of the Ministry of Women and Child Development under the Government of India. Established under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, CARA is responsible for monitoring and regulating adoptions both within and outside India. From a simplification of the paperwork and technicalities, explaining the rationale behind the centralised adoption process, to the questions that are seemingly unique to adoptive homes, this book hopes to go the distance in bringing greater clarity to the understanding of the phenomenon of adoption, she added.
