With Mandira Bedi and Rraj Kaushal's combined age set to cross 90 this April, when they will be ineligible to adopt a child of their preferred age, desperate couple turns to social media
Mandira and Rraj
Mandira and Rraj with their son, Veer
Days after TV actors Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Bonnerjee announced that they adopted two girls, actress Mandira Bedi and her husband have announced plans to adopt a little girl, but the law may stand in their way.
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Mandira's husband, producer Rraj Kaushal, shared their plans on Facebook. But a different kind of clock is ticking against the couple — they want to adopt a girl between the ages of two and four, but under Indian adoption rules, they can't do this if the combined age of both parents is more than 90.
Mandira Bedi
This deadline is just a month away, when Mandira will turn 45 on April 15 and, in the process, the couple would cross the age threshold. Speaking to mid-day Mandira said, "We started the adoption process a few years ago, as we wanted to get a sibling for our little fellow. But it is a long and tiresome process. Finally Rraj decided to put up a post on Facebook. He believes that it will help us, as the universe will open its doors. I fear that talking about it will slim our chances further. But I hope we bring home a new child very soon and complete our family."
Mandira and Rraj
Starry dreams
In fact, the couple already has a name picked out. "Mandira and I had decided that we would have one child of our own and adopt another. When she was pregnant [with Veer], we were very clear that if it is a boy, we will adopt a girl and vice versa. We had always decided that our children will be called Veer and Tara."
However, the paperwork proved to be a major obstacle. "Veer was born in 2011 and it was around the end of 2013 that we started with the adoption procedure. We began the paperwork with two orphanages — one in Mumbai and another in Jalandar — but there was a lot of paperwork and we were clueless about certain things. Now we have much more clarity and want to do it as soon as possible," said Rraj.
Offers of help pour in
After his post on Facebook, there have many have approached him across the country, "It is so wonderful that people from Rajasthan, Mizoram, Karnataka have been sending in messages. In fact, Sandip Soparrkar [choreographer], who has adopted a boy, called and said that he would help us with the process," he signed off.
Inputs by Faisal Tandel
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