Mandira Bedi on her adoption journey

Brut India

For a girl, who’s never sat in a car before, she took a trip on a private jet.” Mandira Bedi talks about coming to terms with her husband’s demise and delves into the journey of adopting her daughter.  :

Transcript

00:00When we got married, I was not ready to have kids for a while.

00:04A couple of my contracts didn't allow me to get pregnant.

00:06Once I became a mom, I said, this is the best thing I've done.

00:09I've done the therapy I've needed to.

00:11I don't think our therapy is ever done.

00:16We'll always need somebody to talk to.

00:23When you spoke earlier about your husband,

00:26there's a lot of conversation about loss.

00:29And how one recovers from a loss like that.

00:33And there's no right answer.

00:34How did you, what was your process of overcoming something like that?

00:39And have you truly overcome it?

00:42Because that's a valid question three years on.

00:45Yes, so yes, it's been three years.

00:47It's probably the first time I'm talking about it.

00:49Like I said, the only way out is through.

00:52Of course, my children and I, we think of him every day.

01:00It's not like we've forgotten him.

01:03But I can talk about it without my eyes welling up.

01:08Because I've dealt with it.

01:09And the first year was very, very, very, very hard.

01:14Because the first of everything, the first of everything

01:18is just impossible to deal with.

01:21The first birthday, the first anniversary, the first Diwali,

01:26the first Christmas, the first New Year,

01:29the first of everything, first of your kid's birthdays without.

01:34And then the second one is a little bit easier.

01:37The third one is a little bit easier.

01:40But on all the important occasions, we remember him.

01:44There are moments that we just remember him

01:47because of a song, because of a...

01:50So I mean, I've done the therapy I've needed to.

01:58There are times I still need to do it.

02:00I think as human beings, we are just a work in progress.

02:05I mean, I don't think our therapy is ever done.

02:11We'll always need somebody to talk to.

02:13We'll always need somebody to vent to.

02:14We'll always need, you know, a shoulder to cry on.

02:19So it's a work in progress.

02:22So let's talk about that, your motherhood journey,

02:24and how did you make this decision to adopt?

02:28When I was dating Raj, I remember, you know,

02:30when you're dating, you have...

02:32You talk about what you want to do in life

02:35and what you want from life.

02:36And at that point, I said, you know something,

02:39I just want to tell you this.

02:40I want to have one and adopt one.

02:42Okay, when we got married,

02:44I was not ready to have kids for a while.

02:46I was too busy, you know, doing cricket.

02:50And, you know, a couple of my contracts

02:52didn't allow me to get pregnant.

02:54I said, you're not allowed to get pregnant.

02:56And then there was someone in my family

02:58who was trying really hard to get pregnant

03:00and was doing IVFs.

03:01The IVFs were failing.

03:02And then suddenly I realized one second,

03:04tick tock, tick tock, I do want to be a mother.

03:07And I am not going to, like,

03:10let life pass me by.

03:12And I do want to be a parent.

03:13And so the day I decided,

03:15honestly, the day I decided,

03:17three months later, I was pregnant.

03:18It was 13 years into our marriage when I got...

03:20Wow.

03:21Yeah, when I got pregnant.

03:22I just was so busy running around.

03:25Once I became a mom, I said,

03:26this is the best thing I've done.

03:27Wow.

03:28This is the best thing I've ever done.

03:31And I was like, now I want more.

03:33Remember we talked about it?

03:34Remember we said...

03:36Remember I said that I want to have one, adopt one.

03:38So when Veer was about six years old,

03:40I put the papers in for adoption.

03:43It was still the thick of the pandemic.

03:45And Raj went, he went to Jabalpur.

03:50He traveled alone.

03:51Normally both parents have to go,

03:52but he traveled alone and we took special permission

03:54because I want to be there for Veer.

03:56This place that we adopted her from

03:57is a really small town.

03:59And it's like, I mean, just see what's meant to be.

04:03It's written.

04:06So small little place called Tikamgarh.

04:09The moment the papers and the signing and everything happened,

04:12me and Veer flew from Bombay on a private jet.

04:17And flew to Jabalpur.

04:22Tara and Raj drove back.

04:24We met at the airport and we flew back.

04:26And for a girl who's never sat in a car before,

04:30she took a trip on a private jet.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended