A couple’s journey from adoption home to tracing biological parents

During the last sonography of her pregnancy, Meera found out that there was a tumour growing in her uterus. As they grappled with this reality, their doctor suggested adoption through SOFOSH.

Circumstances thus led Pranit to a quiet life in Bajar Bhogaon near Kolhapur. The families in the village were a close-knit circle and everyone was aware of Pranit’s adoption story. However, he only found out when he was in class four. “It came as a shock to me and I started crying,” he said.

Ramdas and Meera were teachers and during their work hours, often asked one of the neighbours to look after Pranit. “To console me, my neighbour told me I was actually her child and she gave me up because she already had three children. I was very close to her and addressed her as a ‘mummy’. It made my heart happy that both my houses were so close by”, said Pranit.

Soon after that, Ramdas showed him the files of his adoption from SOFOSH. “Dad had three heart attacks and wanted me to know the truth before it was too late,” Pranit said.

Four years after Ramdas’s death, Meera too passed away of a heart attack. Having lost both his parents, Pranit left Bajar Bhogaon behind to live with his grandmother in Pune. It was here, during his college days, that he found out about the possibility of tracing biological parents. But that decision meant undergoing some counselling with SOFOSH before making the final call.

“They explained to me that everyone’s past is different and if I go through with this, I have to be ready to accept all the facts, however hard to swallow”, said Pranit.

The first time SOFOSH reached out to her, she refused to meet Pranit. “She had her own family that was not aware of her past. But she came to Pune, secretly, to meet me. I guess no matter what, one is drawn to see their child” he said.

It was in 2011, at 21 years of age that he finally met his biological mother. “She kept crying because she thought I must be bitter or angry with her. But I was not. I just wanted to thank her for leaving me in safe hands. Today whatever I am is because of her”, said Pranit.

Through all these years, every August 10, on Pranit’s birthday, she prepares sweets at home as a tradition. It was as per her request to the adoptive parents, that he was named Pranit.

As Pranit considers SOFOSH his first home, he visits it for pre-adoptive meetings. During these sessions people who have gone through the experience of adoption guide prospective parents through all their qualms and doubts. There he met another like him“We both had similar life-arcs, it helped us connect. It felt like it was meant to be because we are always thinking the same thing. We often voice our thoughts at the same time and they echo”, said Ashwini. When she met Pranit, Ashwini was already looking for prospective grooms. “But everytime someone found out that I was adopted, they made an excuse and refused to marry me”, she said.

Ashwini was adopted when she was only five months old. Now at 33, she has decided to trace her biological parents because she is experiencing motherhood. “After I delivered my twins, I felt the desire to meet my biological parents. I thank them everyday but I want to thank them in person. But I don’t know how much I will have to wait before that happens.” she said.

Ashiwini’s biological mother was only in ninth grade when she conceived her. Due to the pregnancy, she was quietly moved from Jalgaon to Pune. After Ashwini’s birth at Sassoon, she was handed over to SOFOSH when she was only eight to ten days old.

But unlike Pranit, the fact of her adoption didn’t come as a shock to Ashwini. “From very early on my parents told me stories of Mowgli and Krishna. They told me that it was by mistake that Ganpati Bappa had sent me to another mother first then through SOFOSH I came to my parents. They also took me to visit SOFOSH often, so I understood adoption well at an early age,” she said. Ashwini’s adoptive mother had gone through miscarriages and when she couldn’t conceive, her family suggested adoption.

Today, Ashwini and Pranit are parents to twin daughters. They tell them stories about Krishna and Mowgli. Ashwini said, “We wish to tell our stories to our children. We take them to SOFOSH regularly, so they are beginning to understand what adoption is,” as she hopes that in 2024, she will be able to meet her biological parents.