Mysuru: It was an emotional moment at Rangayana as the children participating in Chinnara Mela got to meet a unique individual, who with her loving touch fed them from her own hands (kai tuttu).
The Mother of Orphans Sindhutai Sapkal had come all the way from Maharashtra and interacted with the children after inaugurating Chinnara Natakotsava enacted by the kids, at Rangayana premises and caught everyone’s attention.
The organisers of Chinnara Mela had got Sapkal to send the message to the parents of nuclear families how important the presence of a loving and caring grandparents in an household is, especially at a time after liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation when undivided or joint families is no more the norm.
Sindhutai, who had inaugurated the Natakotsava on Saturday, interacted with the children yesterday and also fed them from her own hands. Asked the reason for her giving shelter to ‘orphan children’ she reminisced, “I was on my way trying to commit suicide due to some family problems. I saw a person who was dying asking for water. I gave him water and he said, ‘Because of the water you gave you saved my life.’ I decided if just by giving water to a person I can save a life, then I should live to save some more lives.”
The wheel-chair bound Sindhutai Sapkal being led to Vanaranga in Rangayana premises — the venue of Chinnara Mela — yesterday
Recalling another incident that strengthened her resolve to serve the society, Sindhutai said, “I was begging in a train for my livelihood. The ticket examiner came and asked me to get down as I did not have a ticket. After I got down the train, it caught fire accidentally and was completely destroyed. Looking at the horror right in front of my eyes and how I was saved again, I thought God must have willed me to live for a purpose. After that I started giving shelter to orphaned children who were involved in begging.”
The children who were listening to Sindhutai with rapt attention were moved to tears by her experiences of how she bounced back from adversities.
Rangayana Jt. Director V.N. Mallikarjunaswamy, Chinnara Mela Camp Director M.S. Krishnaprasad and others were present during the occasion.
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