The call of motherhood

Sitting by a window on a warm afternoon, 80-year-old Sarojini Agarwal recalls the tragedy that changed the course of her life three decades ago. Her eight-year-old daughter Manisha was riding pillion on a bike when there was an accident and died on the spot. The grief of losing her only daughter almost felled her, but Sarojini says she turned to God and was drawn to the cause of helping girl child. And thus Manisha Mandir, an NGO in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar, was born that has taken in, cared and provided for nearly 800 girls.

Agarwal always wanted a daughter, and to serve society. The shock of losing one led to the fulfilment of the other. The doughty Sarojini, known as Maa, remembers the early days of Manisha Mandir in 1986. A cradle was set up outside the porch, where people would leave unwanted infants. “Each year, we had nearly 15 one or two-day-old infants in the cradle. Soon, we began to get the babies legally adopted into homes.”

Thirty-one years later, the three-storey Manisha Mandir has a computer lab, library, dormitories, gardens with swings, basketball and badminton court and a television room. Meeting expenses has not been easy. “A little over 30 years go, we bought a piece of land with our own money. As people saw the work we were doing, they donated small amounts of money,” says Sarojini.

To raise more funds, a large hall on the third floor is rented out for functions. “We also allow people to sponsor a child for a minimum of Rs 12,000 for a year,” she says.

The NGO cares for its girls up to the age of 18 after which they are urged to take up jobs. Over the years, some have gone on to become principals and teachers.

THE FUTURE

Manisha Mandir today has an executive body of 11 members comprising of doctors and lawyers. Agarwal is confident of her legacy, but not certain who will carry it on. “I am physically unable to care for newborns and have discontinued taking in infants. I am certain God has a plan. He will not let years of hard work go to vain,” she says.