31 years on,daughter comes calling from Holland to meet mother

Carina Roodenburg adopted by a Dutch couple in 1982 from Pune was reunited with her biological mother (name withheld) in Dhankawadi,Pune,last week

Thirty-one years ago when an unwed mother surrendered her month-old baby at an orphanage,little did she imagine that her daughter would find a way into her life while she battled cancer at the age of 53.

Carina Roodenburg adopted by a Dutch couple in 1982 from Pune was reunited with her biological mother (name withheld) in Dhankawadi,Pune,last week. While the kindergarten teacher from Utrecht in the Netherlands kept a leash on her emotions,the mother,who hails from a small village on the Pune-Satara Road,broke down after coming face to face with the daughter.

When I first saw her,I said this is it. This is the woman I have been thinking of all my life, Roodenburg told The Indian Express. Looking at a picture of herself in a salwar kameez next to her saree-clad mother,she said,Everyday I see more and more resemblances. I think I do look like her.

Social worker Anjali Pawar,who facilitated the search for Roodenburgs mother,said,Carinas mother appeared tense at first. They didnt even hug each other. But she wept profusely later… She was filled with emotion and guilt. She kept saying that it wasnt her fault. She took time to be comfortable.

Roodenburg had first visited India in 2009. She visited the orphange then,but it refused to share any information about her mother. This time,when I leave India I am going to leave something behind, she said. Roodenburg is also keen to help with the expenses for treating her mothers throat cancer.

The reunion was,however,marred by a language barrier as Roodenburg is fluent in English,Dutch,French and German,but her mother speaks only Marathi. I didnt mind that I couldnt talk to her. It was good enough that I could sit next to her, Roodenburg said. On my first trip to India,I visited the orphange,but they refused to give me any information about my mother.

A social worker in the Netherlands,however,fished out Roodenburgs adoption records and found her mothers name in it. Pawar with Rolie Post and Arun Dohle,her counterparts in Europe,carried out a rigorous search based on the name and a 31-year-old address that led to the brother of Roodenburgs mother.

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Pawar said Roodenburgs uncle was reluctant at first and told her not to rake up his sisters past. Roodenburgs mother,now widowed,had married after surrendering her daughter,and has two other daughters. After Roodenburg met her uncle,he realised that she was not angry or bitter.

Roodenburg feels grateful for a loving adopted family,but says,Inside I was always the little girl who was abandoned.