Mother India

Mother India is the name of India's first film to be nominated for the Academy Awards for the best film. It was released in 1957 and was directed by Mehboob Khan. It depicts the story of a poor woman, played by Nargis whose husband leaves her after becoming handicapped, and shows her struggles in life. Her two sons die in their childhood and another son, out of the two surviving, is killed by herself, while protecting the daughter of the Sukhilala, the moneylender for whom first her husband died, then two of her son's, and finally another son is shot by her while he kidnaps Sukhilala's daughter.

Mother India shows the grit and determination shown by Radha(Nargis) while raising her family amidst calamities, showing strong character and values.

This reel life story is quite similar to another real-life story of a woman who faces similar circumstances in life but does not break down.

Her name is Sindhutai Sapkal, also known as the"Mother of Orphans". She is an Indian social worker and social activist. She is known for her work in raising orphaned children in India. She was conferred a Doctorate in Literature by the DY Patil Institute of Technology and Research in 2016 and the Nari Shakti Puraskar in the year 2017.

She was born on 14 November 1948 in Wardha, India. Her father, Abhimanji used to send her to school under the pretext of cattle grazing, where she would use the 'leaf of Bharadi Tree' as a slate as she could not buy a real slate as her family's income was low. She studied till the 4th standard.

At the age of twelve, Sindhutai was married to a man twenty years her senior. In her new home, she fought against the exploitation of local women, who collected cow dung, by the forests department and landlords. She bore three sons by the time she turned twenty.

At the young age of twenty, when nine-months pregnant, She was beaten and abandoned by her husband as someone had spread a false message against her that created discrepancies between her husband and her. She gave birth to a baby girl named Mamta, in a cow shelter outside their house on 14 th October 1973. 

She used to beg and sing devotional songs on the streets and railway platforms to make her ends meet. Because she feared being picked up by men at night, she often slept at cemeteries. Because of this, she was called a ghost since she was seen at night in the cemeteries.

One day she found a baby crying beside his dead mother on the railway platform. Deeply moved by his plight, Sindhutai adopted him, after the authorities refused to take him. Since then her life has changed. She began sharing whatever she earned to feed her adopted children. As their numbers grew, Sindhutai began to beg and sing more and more so that she could give her children a good living. Over the last 50 years, Sindhutai has transformed the lives of over 1,400 orphans, many of whom are now doctors, educationists, lawyers, etc. Popularly known as the Mother of 1000 orphans, Sindhutai has 282 sons-in-law, 48 daughters-in-law, and over 300 grandchildren and counting!

She had even donated her biological child, her daughter Mamta, to the trust named Shrimant Dagdu Sheth Halwai, Pune, to erase the feeling of partiality between her biological child and her adopted children. Such was her love for these orphaned children!

Sindhutai was honored by the President of India with the highest civilian award for women for her selfless and noble social work. Besides she has received numerous recognitions, awards, and citations. 

She continues to tread her noble path and take care of her children!

She is called Mai meaning mother, by her kids. She has given love and affection to these kids and given them a new lease of life. She is Mother India, in the true sense of the term!