"Don't ask me whether you are having a boy or a girl, because I am not going to tell you," said the ultrasound specialist- a genial old friend of the family. But I said to him cheerfully, "Don't worry- I know its a girl."

This was my second pregnancy and after visits to several different ultrasound clinics- I was clued into parenting protocol- if its a boy- they will tell you, presumably expecting you to jump for joy. If it's a girl- well their silence says it all.

It seems amazing but true- but estimates of a medical journal 'Lancet', and of the Indian Medical Association seem to suggest 500,000 female foetuses are aborted every year- that's 10 million in the past ten years (approximately the number of people put to death by the Nazis, also the population of the National Capital Region).

There's a law against that, against even finding out the sex of your child- but it's a bit simplistic to expect that people will not find ways of knowing whether they will have the much-awaited boy-who-will-take-family-name-forward-and-take-care-of-you-when-you-are-old, or the girl-oh-no-now-you-have-to-save-for-her-dowry.

And even if you made sure that no one ever found out- what about all the cases- across the country, from Rajasthan to Tamil Nadu where mothers snuff their minutes old daughters lives out themselves- worried about taking care of one more non-male child, possibly in some misguided way,thinking they are sparing the child a lifetime of misery. The abortions are just a sophisticated version of that.

As our correspondent Hemangini who reported the story for CNN-IBN, points out, the sex ratio is as skewed in posh South Delhi, as it is in Salem district. And if I may say- the mindset equally odd.

So I got into the habit of dealing with the expressions on the faces of anyone who dealt with my lab tests through two pregnancies.There, there, it's okay I would want to say- I really am thrilled about having another girl.

It got really ridiculous when I actually delivered my second daughter- agonising seconds after she was born- and taken away to be made presentable- I looked at my shell-shocked nurses, and said "Is the baby oK?"-Silence...."Is there a problem?"....Silence..... As panic welled up inside, I screamed, "Is SHE ok?"....Relief,as they broke out in a babble--" Oh, so you know it's a girl. Sorry about that. Condolences - er... congratulations I mean." By which point I was ready to throw the doctor's surgical implements, the stretcher, and all the oxygen cylinders at them. Instead I started laughing.

Later,as I lay on a bed in my nursing home room- I saw a very curious line of young girls, all in single file, like little Matrushka dolls together, go by. The proud father of the five beautiful girls- was over the moon.

His wife had just delivered the-much-awaited-carry-your-name-forward boy- oh joy, oh joy. He looked in at my room on the way- turned to my father-in-law, and said see, don't worry, your bahu will also have a boy one day.

When he left the room- we all burst into peals of laughter- but somewhere there, I felt a knot of anger. Anger at the ridiculousness of people who are otherwise educated, sane and rational. Outraged that the practise of chosing the sex of your child (read male), seems to grow rather than diminish with time.

All that changes are the implements, the machinery, the technology.

Not the mindset.