Ambassador of faith in a world living in terror's shadow

In a world living under the spectre of terrorism, this practising Buddhist comes across as an ambassador of hope. Nothing - not even losing her husband Daniel Pearl to kidnappers in Pakistan when she was in the fifth month of her pregnancy in 2002 - has shaken her faith in the goodness of humanity. Mariane Pearl, who inspired the Angelina Jolie- starrer, A Mighty Heart , remains undefeated.

On Koel's couch in her firstever Indian television interview, Mariane spoke about why she chose the path of peace instead of embarking upon a lifetime of bitterness when Daniel Pearl, the then South Asia bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal , was beheaded by his kidnappers in Pakistan.

Though she did run out with a gun when she heard about his killing, she stopped herself. " That's exactly what I am expected to do - create more hatred," she says. " The only thing to do was to do the exact opposite and confront terrorism with everything that they aim to take away from me." The nobility of this sentiment gets Koel to write on her blog in http:// blogs. intoday. in : " It is precisely this ability to think of the greater good even as her own world was being torn apart that makes Mariane not only unique but also one of the bravest women in the world." It has taken Mariane nine years to come back to Mumbai, the city where she lived with Daniel Pearl for two and a half years. She is full of happy memories of Daniel playing the violin with a Blues group in Indigo, the restaurant, and the time spent with good friends.

Now a freelance journalist who has just authored In Search of Hope , Mariane is busy bringing up Adam, whom she describes as " a very happy child". And she found love again, after her grief over losing Daniel led to a burnout two years ago. She knows the love is for real because the person she is with stood by her even when she was in hospital and " didn't look good at all".

Though she could easily - and justifiably - have turned into a Pakistan- hater, Mariane refuses to toe the Western media's line on Pakistan being a terror factory, and remains a passionate defender of the Pakistani people." When I point out that hardly any of them had the courage to speak up against Salman Taseer's assassination and even resignedly accepted its celebration, she says it's not always wise to be courageous publicly. ‘ What would be the point if you got shot for it?'," notes Koel.

Mariane is "good friends" with Brangelina (Angelina Jolie played her in A Mighty Heart and Brad Pitt produced the film). "We've formed a lifelong friendship and that's what matters most to me and to them as well," she says.

This ambassador of hope has met several heads of state over the years, including America's biggest ambassador of the audacity of hope, Barack Obama. " He struck me as a very dignified man. It was a good feeling to see him in the White House," she says. And it's a good feeling seeing Mariane radiate peace and good vibes in a world fraught with terror.