Maai: Mother to Orphans

Tree she planted by her now offer & shades to all.

- Kaushik Joshi

With her steely determination, fortitude and patience, she could face seemingly insurmountable challenges and change her dramatic struggles into what can be called fuel to spur her personal greatness for the societal good.

That is how she viewed adversity. She didn't let it dishearten her. Rather, adversity and roadblocks shaped her character, clarified her priorities and defined her path.

Sindhutai Sapkal, an icon of motherly love to orphans in Maharashtra, passed away in Pune on January 4, this year, aged 73. Fondly called 'Maai' in Marathi, Sindhutai will continue to live on in the hearts of about 1200 orphans she cared for giving them food, shelter, education and above all motherly love.

"I am there for all those who have no one," she used to say.

Growing up in childhood was daunting for Sindhutai as it was neglect, deprivation and poverty all the way. Worse, she was an unwanted child in the family as she was born a girl. Ironically, Sindhu was born on 14th November 1948which was later declared Children's Day in Pimpri Meghe village of Wardha district in Maharashtra, then in the Central Provinces and Berar of British India.

Fathered by Abhimanyu Sathe, Sindhu was called a 'chindi' (torn piece of cloth) in the family as she was a girl child. Her mother was against educating her but her father sent her to school despite that.

She was good at studies. When her mother objected to her schooling, her father sent her to school under the pretext of grazing. Since her father couldn't afford a slate for her, she would get leaves of Bharadi trees to write on. Such was the poverty.

Sadly, her schooling was cut short by abject poverty, family responsibilities and an early marriage when she was in the fourth grade.