You won't read this letter any time soon, princess. I know that very well. You are not born yet. Though I like to believe you do exist. Maybe as a consciousness in a celestial body, waiting for the right moment to make your presence felt on Earth. But years from now when you do read this, you will know how well anticipated your birth was.

We, I and your mother, talk about you a lot these days. That is, a lot more than before. If you know, ever since I married her we had you in our mind. At sporadic intervals we have, like most young couples, gone into lengthy discussions over you as if you were already a living, breathing member of our family.

Of course, your mother harps a lot on your education. It is a matter of utmost interest to both her and me. We believe it is the greatest gift we can offer you in becoming a self-reliant, responsible human being. Fortunately, our city is known for its high standards of education and has over 40 top-rated schools. But that has failed to impress your mother. She short-listed 17 of them, of which again 10 have been dropped by now. She says one can never be too prudent when it comes to education.

I, on the other hand, think more about the world you have to grow up in. You know, nothing is as it used to be. When I was a kid life was more or less predictable for me. It is no longer so. And that bothers me. Your mother says I am over-reacting. Maybe I am. But with good reason. Recently two kids shocked the very core of our nation by shooting dead their school mate. They were just 13 years old, my dear. When I was 13, my life revolved around collecting comic books or flying kites. In school, we too used to get into fist fights every now and then. But no dispute was ever so serious that our principal's spanking couldn't settle. The next morning we were all friends again. You see, we were children. We played, we dreamt, fought, studied, behaved, and breathed like children. We lived by children's rules. But today, children seem to play by the rules of adults. That too, malevolent adults.

I wish I didn't have to tell you all this. I wish I was talking to you about fairy tales and dancing princesses. I wish I was telling you what a wonderful time a child has growing up here. How beautiful the world is and how colorful our skies are. But I am no longer sure I can say that looking you in the eye. Peaches, the truth is, things aren't the way they are meant to be. A 15 year old boy found it right within himself to indulge in a sexual act with his schoolmate and share the video among his friends via MMS. A 5 year old girl was raped by two boys. One was 10 and the other 8. A 12 year old died of drug overdose in her school toilet. She was the only child of a doctor couple. A group of college girls were arrested for prostitution. Apparently, they were funding their fancy life-styles and drug-addiction.

You see, I am scared for a reason. I am scared not because these kids did what they did. It can be passed off as an anomaly. Justified as aberrations. What I am scared of is the abject display of insanity that makes such acts possible in a child. That's what makes me wake up in the middle of the night. That's what makes me afraid for you and for all the little ones that have to grow up in this new world. Because as a parent I no longer know what it is that I need to protect you from and how. I no longer feel adequate against the ever increasing number of enemies that threaten my child's well being and future. Every single day seems to bring a new horror into the world I live in and you will have to. Every single day seems to be a survival test for the human race. Or what is left of it, in the real sense of the word. Every day seems a death knell of a boy or girl who perish violently, in body or spirit, without ever experiencing the wonder of life.

As a father and the protector of our family, I feel weak and terrified. I ask myself over and over again, 'How do I protect my child?' And today, I have the answer. That is the reason why I write to you now. I know what it is that I will have to protect with my life for you.

It is your innocence, my love. It is the innocence of childhood that I and every single parent on this earth needs to guard with their life. Because it is your innocence that demarcates your Heaven and Hell. Once lost, it will turn your life into a nightmare.

Yes, my little one, inside every child who rapes another, carries guns, tries drugs, finds it necessary to sell one's body to maintain a life-style, lies, robs, finds solace in porn sites is a child who has lost her innocence.

Inside every child who abuses her freedom is a child who has lost her innocence.

Inside every child who abuses her parent's trust is a child who has misplaced her innocence.

It is when you lose your innocence that the first touch of evil is born in your heart. It is precisely then that your childhood is robbed. It is then that fairy tales and dancing princesses no longer hold your interest. No longer do rainbows and the colorful sky make you want to draw, the starlit night make you gasp in wonder, nature as such fails to excite you, sleeping in your mother's lap gives you no pleasure, you don't dream of flying horses or magic lamps. That is when you know you has lost your innocence.

And that is why I need to protect your innocence. Because it is the greatest gift you can have as a child. And till you are grown up enough to make rational choices fully well knowing their consequences, I will do everything possible to guard it. A childhood that is a beautiful, memorable tale of discovery is your birth right. As your father, I will not allow any one or any thing to rob you of that.

I love you more than I love anything in this world, my angel. Know that I and your mother would give up anything to have you with us. We both love you that much, princess.