While on paper, she was a mother to four children, in reality, her brood expanded to thousands left at the doors of the sanstha that she ran in Pune since 1998.
Today, her legacy lives on in the work of her daughter, Mamata. “My mother studied till Class 4. She spent half her day in school and the other half herding cows,” Mamata explains.
When Sindhutai was 12 years old, she was married off.
While she was expecting Mamata, in her ninth month of pregnancy, Sindhutai was dumped by the side of a road. “Everyone who knew her thought she had died,” recalls Mamata.
No one was around during her labour pains, or when she cut the umbilical cord with a stone after giving birth to Mamata.
With no one and nothing in sight, Sindhutai began begging. Her resources were meagre, but every time she saw a child beg, Sindhutai would lean into her maternal instinct and take them under her wing.
The bond between her and these children was sacrosanct. Mamata watched and marvelled. After completing her master’s in social work, she decided to join the foundation and lend a hand to her mother’s work.
Besides taking care of the children’s primary needs and giving wings to their dreams, the foundation supports children through food, shelter, clothing, education, and rehabilitation.
At the orphanage, children are given a secure atmosphere for self-development and are helped with admission into schools and colleges.
Her humility set Sindhutai apart, and today, even after she’s no longer with us, the silhouette of her legacy lives on.