‘Mother of Orphans’, Sindhutai Sapkal passes away at age of 73

Pune, January 05: The 'Mother of orphans' and Padma Shri recipient, Sindhutai Sapkal, waved the world off on Tuesday night at the age of 73. Sapkal, who was often referred to just as 'Sindhutai ' or' 'Mai' breathed her last in the Galaxy Care Hospital.

According to the Galaxy hospital's new bulletin, Sindhutai had been admitted to the hospital for the last 1.5 months. She died of a heart attack at 8.10 PM. Hailing from a poor family in Wardha, Sindhutai's entire life is an inspiration. Born on November 14, 1948, in the Wardha district of Maharashtra, Sapkal was forced to drop out of school after she had passed the 4th standard.

At as young as age 12, she was married to a 32-year-old man. After she gave birth to three children, her husband abandoned her while she was pregnant. At one point, as her mother and the village where she had grown up refused to help her in her plight, Sapkal had to resort to begging to raise her daughters.

However, overcoming these circumstances, she soon started working for orphans' welfare.

She ran an orphanage - Sanmati Bal Niketan Sanstha - in Pune near Hadapsar. Sapkal had adopted more than 1,000 orphan children over her long career and has received several awards for her social service.

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Her life has been an inspiration to many. In 2010, a Marathi biopic on her life, Mee Sindhutai Sapkal, was released and selected for the world premiere at the 54th London Film Festival.

Expressing his grief over Sindhutai’s demise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said she will be remembered for her noble service to society. "Dr. Sindhutai Sapkal will be remembered for her noble service to society. Due to her efforts, many children could lead a better quality of life. She also did a lot of work among marginalised communities. Pained by her demise. Condolences to her family and admirers. Om Shanti," he tweeted.