More people live in India than in any other country. You have children there because you have to. But what if things don’t work out with the offspring? Visit a couple trying to be parents and a doctor turning desperation into a business.
In rich countries you have children because you feel the need. Because you want to crown your love or procreate, maybe you are looking for a new task in life. In India you have children because you have to. “Not having children is not an option for us,” says Alok Singh, 40, very energetically. In front of him is a cup of coffee that has been cold for a long time, next to him is his wife, Alpena, 32, she wears a delicate bindi on her forehead, the painted dot in the middle of her forehead where the energetic third eye is believed to be. She speaks little and smiles a lot. The two have been trying to become parents for ten years. They have already arranged their future life in a small apartment in Noida, a suburb of Delhi. He commutes daily to India TV, the country’s third largest news channel. She cooks, washes, cleans, takes care of the household. They are living their dream of a family – only without children. Because they just don’t want to come.