अनकही आवाज़ें | Unspoken Voices
In this deeply personal episode, a former student reconnects with her professor after a decade, sharing a heartfelt reflection on how the lessons from his demography and health economics classes have unexpectedly shaped her understanding of life. Through a recorded letter, she narrates her quiet struggle with infertility, the weight of societal expectations, and the unspoken emotional toll of reproductive choices.
प्रोफेसर होने के नाते अक्सर युवा, विशेष रूप से ’20’s’ के लोगों से मेरी गहरी बातचीत होती रहती है। ज्यादातर बच्चे पास में ही चले जाते हैं, कुछ लंबे अरस तक टच में रहते हैं और समय-समय पर जिंदगी के सबक भी शेयर करते हैं। इन एक्स बच्चों की बातें मुझे सबसे ज्यादा आकर्षित करती हैं क्योंकि इनमे मार्क्स, असाइनमेंट और पाठ्यक्रम से ऊपर जीवन की सच्चाई सबसे ज्यादा होती हैं।
ऐसी ही एक खास ‘लास्ट बेंचर’ से आज मुझे एक कहानी मिलती है। दस साल पहले जब वो मेरी दुकान थी तब सब्जेक्ट्स में रुचि नहीं थी। हा, मगर हमारे बीच बातें बहुत होती रहती थीं। आज वो बता रहे हैं पढ़ाई के समय किताबी लीज वाले उन कॉन्सेप्ट्स ने कैसे अपनी खुद की जिंदगी में मायने पाए।
‘अनकही आवाजें’ में सुनिए शादी और परिवार को लेकर एक युवा, स्वतंत्र, जिम्मेदार महिला की ये कहानी, वही की प्यारी।
- मयूर त्रिवेदी
In this deeply personal episode of Likhe Jo Khat Mujhe with Mayur Trivedi, titled Ankahi Awaazein (Unspoken Voices), a former student, Shreya, reconnects with her professor after a decade, sharing a heartfelt reflection on how the lessons from his demography and health economics classes have unexpectedly shaped her understanding of life. Through a recorded letter, she narrates her quiet struggle with infertility, the weight of societal expectations, and the unspoken emotional toll of reproductive choices.
Once a self-proclaimed “last bencher,” Shreya remembers feeling detached from discussions about population, opportunity costs, and reproductive autonomy. At the time, those concepts seemed distant from her vibrant college life, filled with friendships, love, and a sense of limitless possibilities.
“You once said, ‘Reproductive health isn’t just about overpopulation — it’s about choices.’ Now, as I navigate love, career, relationships, and IVF, I finally grasp the real meaning of your words.”
Years later, after an eight-year relationship, four years of marriage, and an exhausting journey through IVF, Shreya sees those lessons in an entirely different light. Carefully made choices — waiting for family approval, planning responsibly — have led to an unforeseen reality: a long, painful wait for motherhood.
“We didn’t want to start a new family by leaving behind our own, so we waited. For four years before marriage, we acted like a ‘responsible couple’ — staying protected and waiting for our families’ approval. Now, I wish we had understood the true cost of our choices back then. I wish we hadn’t used protection. I wish we had taken a chance.”
The episode masterfully weaves soundscapes — the steady ticking of a clock, hushed clinic noises, the soft clinking of cups — to draw listeners into Shreya’s world. With quiet strength, she questions why infertility remains a deeply personal struggle while fertility is a societal concern. She urges her professor to bring these silenced experiences into academic discussions, reminding him that the burdens of reproductive responsibility do not belong to marginalised communities alone but equally to urban, educated women navigating unseen pressures.
Shreya ends her message with a quiet yet determined resolve — to become a voice for others like her. She asks her professor to guide her in building an organisation that supports women facing similar challenges. Listening to her leaves us with a poignant truth: behind every statistic lies a deeply human story, waiting to be heard.
Credits
Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Gorveck Thokchom, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi, and Velu Shankar
Acknowledgements
Shreya voiced by Somya Tewari
Resources
- Indian couples are struggling to conceive. Why is the world’s most populous nation facing this challenge?
- Patterns in age at first marriage and its determinants in India: A historical perspective of last 30 years (1992 – 2021)
- Surging trends of infertility and its behavioural determinants in India
- A newspaper article based on this: Late marriages and lifestyle lead to high infertility rates in south, says survey
- Career vs. Biological clock: How to support Indian women in professional and personal fulfillment
Listen to all episodes in this series
-
सड़कों की आवाज़ें | Sadakon Ki Awaazein
“If society or the government really wanted us to quit, they’d make it harder to access tobacco, wouldn’t they?” Ramesh asks. “But no, it’s available everywhere.” In the first episode of Likhe Jo Khat Mujhe presented by Mayur Trivedi, a public health researcher gets a letter from a taxi driver that raises thought-provoking questions.
-
जंगलों की आवाज़ें | Sounds of the Forest
In this episode of Likhe Jo Khat Mujhe, Mayur Trivedi shares a heartfelt fictional letter from Bhikhabhai, a Maldhari shepherd who lives in the Gir Forest. Bhikhabhai says that in his pastoral community, having a son is not viewed as a rejection of daughters, but a necessity to ensure economic continuity. This poignant episode urges us to reflect on our inherent cultural biases and blind spots.
-
दिल की आवाज़ें | Sounds of the Heart
In this poignant episode, a mother shares her struggles with her son, a gender studies professor, offering a personal perspective on societal identity. In her message to him, she highlights the gap between academic theories and lived realities, reminding him, “You study gender; we women live it.”
