Good morning everyone
To start off, i would like to thank the mediators for explaining the process of mediation so
well and for making us feel comfortable.i truly appreciate your patience and support
I would also like to thank rishabh and counsel for being here today. This is not an easy
situation for either of us but i truly feel that going through the process of mediation can help
both of us and our daughter Rashi.
Rishabh and I got married in 2017 and prior to the wedding, i was working in a mnc, earning
a decent living. Rishabh was ambitious and dreamt of moving to canada to expand his
business and when he told me his decision to move, i did not question it at all. I have always
wanted to live somewhere with liberal and progressive thinking since i was brought up in a
very conservative household which truly soured my relationship with my parents.
We moved to canada in 2019 in july and had a beautiful daughter. All was good for a couple
of years until my brother in law died in a tragic accident. It was truly a difficult time for the
entire family and we went to india immediately.
This is when rishabh broke the news to me that he wanted to move back to india and initially
i was taken aback by the situation. I agreed to moving to delhi as it was a difficult time for
our family and went back to canada for sometime to prepare for the move.
Once i was back in the place i call my home, i realised that our entire life is here. I have loved
the freedom i have in canada and finally i was able to live my life on my own terms. This is
the only place my daughter knows as home. It won’t be fair for her if we uproot our entire life
and move back. She is accustomed to canada. This is the reason that i have refused to move
to delhi even after constant pressuring from our families.
Rishabh and i had a wonderful life and both of us love our daughter unconditionally. If
rishabh is not willing to move back to canada, i am afraid i won’t be left with any other
option but to go through with the judicial separation. However, today i am completely open to
discuss an arrangement that is acceptable to the both of us and i am willing to give rishabh
the space and time he needs as well. My daughter deserves to live in an environment where
she is loved and that will be my top priority today.
Possible approaches-
● She can stay in Canada and Rishabh can join them once his liabilities are settled in India,
he can always visit his parents when required.
● Even though Ashita wishes to live in Canada with Rashi, she would definitely want Rashi
to have an affectionate bond with Rishabh and try her best to foster such a relationship.
● She can live separately in canada with Rashi and Rishabh can always visit them
whenever his schedule allows, moreover they can plan vacations as a family.
● They can visit India during Rashi’s school vacations.
● Ashita can seek employment in Canada and contribute financially while Rishabh moves
his base from india to canada and build a profitable business there.
● If not move to Canada, live separately from the in laws in India based upon the
confirmation from rishabh that he will not compromise with her lifestyle that she enjoyed
in canada and she will not be forced to live with his parents or adjust in any manner
RISHABH
Good morning everyone
To start off, i would like to thank the mediators for explaining the process of mediation so
well and for making us feel comfortable.i truly appreciate your patience and support
I would also like to thank ashita and counsel for being here today. This is not an easy
situation for either of us but i truly feel that going through the process of mediation can help
both of us and our daughter Rashi.
Ashita and i got married in 2017 and i had always dreamt of expanding my business to
canada. We were presented with the perfect opportunity of expand the business due to
favourable policies of the government at the time. My dear brother rahul would manage the
domestic affairs while i would set up the business in canada. Ashita had no objections with
moving to canada and was supportive.
After moving to canada, we had a beautiful daughter rashi and we were over the moon.
Everything was not perfect though. The business simply wasn’t meeting our expectation and
we were not earning any profit whatsoever and that was quite worrisome to me.
September of 2021 was the hardest month of my life since my brother left us that month. It
was an extremely dark time for me and my parents and i had to make a lot of difficult
decisions, which included moving back to india. The decisions, although harsh, were truly
important for my family. My parents are old and need someone to look after them and i could
not in good conscience leave them alone after they had just lost one of their sons. Since the
business in canada was not profitable, i would not have been able to provide for my family.
The business is delhi was widely successful but there was no one to run it. It made perfect
sense for us to move back since rashi would be able to live with people who love her
unconditionally. It can be harmful to deprive such a young child of her family and both her
parents in her developmental years.
I have never imposed any restrictions on ashita and have always encouraged her. I promise
you ashita that you won’t be deprived of any comfort here and i don’t want to impose an
obligation on you to take care of my parents. They are my responsibility. All i want is for our
to be together again. I am willing to try all sorts of marriage counselling and i promise your
lifestyle will not be impacted in a negative way.
Possible approaches-
● Take a separate residence from the parents … can live in vicinity so that ashita can adjust
better
● Ensure her comfort and liberal thinking
● Rishabh has never put any restrictions on Ashita. He is also willing to talk to her parents
and make them understand her liberal thinking and lifestyle and is willing to support her
at every step.
● Also open to try marriage counsellors
● Ashita can try residing with rishabh separately in a rented house so that she herself can
see whether she is able to adjust in India or not
● Ashita is not under any obligation to take care of Rishabh’s parents or have frequent
meetings with them
● Rashi is still young she can get adapted to the Indian culture as well. As a young child
she would require the support and love from both her parents. Moreover, in her
developmental years, it would be difficult for her to accept the separation of her parents.