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Great Indian Women
Sindhutai Sapkal
Sindhutai Sapkal (14 November 1948 – 4 January 2022) was an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for her work in raising orphaned children in India. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 in Social Work category.
Being an unwanted child, she was referred to as Chindhi (Marathi for "piece of rag"). Abject poverty, family responsibilities and an early marriage forced her to quit formal education after she successfully passed the fourth standard. Sapkal was married off at age 12 to Shrihari Sapkal, who was 20 years older than her, and moved to Nawargaon village, Seloo in Wardha. The marriage did not last long and at the age of 20, she was left on her own to care for a girl child.
Sindhutai Sapkal later found herself in Chikhaldara, where she started begging for food. In the process, she realised that there were many children abandoned by their parents and she adopted them as her own. She had to beg even harder to feed ever the larger family. She decided to become a mother to everyone who came across to her as an orphan.
She later gave away her own daughter to the Shrimant Dagdu Sheth Halwai trust of Pune, to eliminate the feeling of partiality between her own child and the adopted children.
After being informed of the plight of orphaned and abandoned Adivasi children, Sapkal took care of the children in return for meager amounts of food. Shortly thereafter, it become the mission of her life.
Sapkal devoted herself to orphans. As a result, she was fondly called "Mai", which means "mother". She nurtured over 1,500 orphaned children and through them had a grand family of 382 sons-in-law and 49 daughters-in-law. She has been honoured with more than 700 awards for her work. She used award money to buy land to make a home for orphaned children.
Some of her organisation are:-
Mother Global Foundation,
Sanmati Bal Niketan,
Mamata Bal Sadan(started in 1994),
Savitribai Phule Mulinche Vasatigruh (Girls' Hostel),
Abhiman Bal Bhavan, and many more.
She was awarded with many awards such as:
1. 2021 - Padma Shri in Social work category
2. 2017 – Nari Shakti Puraskar from the President Of India
3. 2016 – Honorary doctorate by the Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Engineering, Pune
4. 2016 – Social Worker of the Year award from Wockhardt Foundation
5. And many more....
The 2010 Marathi film Mee Sindhutai Sapkal by Anant Mahadevan is a biopic inspired by the true story of Sindhutai Sapkal. The film was selected for world premiere at the 54th London Film Festival.
She died due to hear attack on 4 January 2022.
It's her life; My perspective to her life is, A great women is not built in one day or by one incident, she has to struggle everything day, hustle every night, sacrifice her core and work hard for goal. Her life is true example for these words. She made life of thousands children, she gave them reason to live.
I heartily salute to this soul!
Someone said to me " Women either can make home or can destroy it, she has both potential to give life or to take."
#samwriting
#GreatIndianWomen
Comment down your thoughts about her!
For more such inspiring stories follow @Sam31.2005
© Agrawal
Sindhutai Sapkal (14 November 1948 – 4 January 2022) was an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for her work in raising orphaned children in India. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 in Social Work category.
Being an unwanted child, she was referred to as Chindhi (Marathi for "piece of rag"). Abject poverty, family responsibilities and an early marriage forced her to quit formal education after she successfully passed the fourth standard. Sapkal was married off at age 12 to Shrihari Sapkal, who was 20 years older than her, and moved to Nawargaon village, Seloo in Wardha. The marriage did not last long and at the age of 20, she was left on her own to care for a girl child.
Sindhutai Sapkal later found herself in Chikhaldara, where she started begging for food. In the process, she realised that there were many children abandoned by their parents and she adopted them as her own. She had to beg even harder to feed ever the larger family. She decided to become a mother to everyone who came across to her as an orphan.
She later gave away her own daughter to the Shrimant Dagdu Sheth Halwai trust of Pune, to eliminate the feeling of partiality between her own child and the adopted children.
After being informed of the plight of orphaned and abandoned Adivasi children, Sapkal took care of the children in return for meager amounts of food. Shortly thereafter, it become the mission of her life.
Sapkal devoted herself to orphans. As a result, she was fondly called "Mai", which means "mother". She nurtured over 1,500 orphaned children and through them had a grand family of 382 sons-in-law and 49 daughters-in-law. She has been honoured with more than 700 awards for her work. She used award money to buy land to make a home for orphaned children.
Some of her organisation are:-
Mother Global Foundation,
Sanmati Bal Niketan,
Mamata Bal Sadan(started in 1994),
Savitribai Phule Mulinche Vasatigruh (Girls' Hostel),
Abhiman Bal Bhavan, and many more.
She was awarded with many awards such as:
1. 2021 - Padma Shri in Social work category
2. 2017 – Nari Shakti Puraskar from the President Of India
3. 2016 – Honorary doctorate by the Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Engineering, Pune
4. 2016 – Social Worker of the Year award from Wockhardt Foundation
5. And many more....
The 2010 Marathi film Mee Sindhutai Sapkal by Anant Mahadevan is a biopic inspired by the true story of Sindhutai Sapkal. The film was selected for world premiere at the 54th London Film Festival.
She died due to hear attack on 4 January 2022.
It's her life; My perspective to her life is, A great women is not built in one day or by one incident, she has to struggle everything day, hustle every night, sacrifice her core and work hard for goal. Her life is true example for these words. She made life of thousands children, she gave them reason to live.
I heartily salute to this soul!
Someone said to me " Women either can make home or can destroy it, she has both potential to give life or to take."
#samwriting
#GreatIndianWomen
Comment down your thoughts about her!
For more such inspiring stories follow @Sam31.2005
© Agrawal
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