An Italian fairytale takes shape in a Neemrana village

After a two-year wait, the Supreme Court last week gave the go-ahead to the Massimos to adopt Alka, as long as her mother did not have an objection. The 10-year-old is the daughter of a taxi-driver, Sumer Singh Yadav, who came in contact with the Massimos during their trips to India for the past 20 years. After he died in an accident soon after dropping them at Sariska four years ago, the Massimos volunteered to adopt Alka. But the case had been stuck in courts, till now.

Struggling to raise six children after her husband’s death, Mother Anokha Devi can’t believe her youngest daughter’s luck. The e-mail from Italy over the weekend has created ripples in sleepy Pratapsinghpura. ‘‘We had given up hope and were not at all pursuing the matter. I just went to put my thumb impression on some papers in court once. After that we went about our lives. But the Italians never gave up hope and now all our dreams will come true.’’

The tale is indeed nothing short of a fairytale. For almost 20 years, every winter when the Massimos landed in India for their annual vacation, Sumer—employed with a Delhi-based taxi agency—would diligently turn up at their doorstep at the Capital and chauffeur them around.

On one such trip to Jaipur, he asked them if they wanted to visit his house. The couple agreed and Yadav made an unscheduled stop at his village, introducing the Massimos to his wife and six children, including toddler Alka.

In 1999, Sumer was killed in a road accident, just a few kilometers away from his home. ‘‘He was coming home after dropping the Massimos at Sariska,’’ recalls Anokha. ‘‘In fact, he was coming to pick me up and take me there. He said he wanted to show me a new place.’’

The journey was never made, and when another taxi-driver turned up to pick up the Massimos after their sojourn in Sariska, they were shocked. They changed their destination and went to Pratapsinghpura instead. Ever since, they have visited every winter, without fail, ‘‘getting to know the family’’ and providing monetary assistance to tide over the initial financial difficulties.

‘‘The first few years were very tough,’’ Anokha says. ‘‘But thanks to the Massimos, I didn’t have to pull any of my children out of school and we managed.’’

Beady-eyed Alka is agog with excitement at the new turn in her life. Hiding the tinge of nervousness that creeps into her voice every now and then, she says shyly: ‘‘I will miss my mother the most but I’ll go tomorrow if I can. I like them.’’

In fact, the Massimos had taken Alka on a holiday to Goa a few years ago, just to see if she could get used to them and their lifestyle. ‘‘When she first came back, she told everyone she had been to Italy,’’ says Maya, Alka’s elder sister. ‘‘She told us all about the sea and sand. She enjoyed it and didn’t seem to have missed us much.’’

Maya says her father had wanted her to go to Italy, but that she is too old now. ‘‘Our only brother can’t go because we need him around the house. All the rest of us sisters are too old now. So it’s going to be the baby of the house.’’

As usual, the success has sparked its share of scepticism. Villagers gossip about the ‘‘strange things’’ Alka will become in videsh. But Anokha is not letting that be a roadblock in her daughter’s future. ‘‘All they want to do is educate her and make her successful. What more can a mother ask for?’’ she asks.

The Massimos have further quietened Anokha’s fears by assuring her that she will see her daughter every year. Alka too has solemnly promised to write to them, in Hindi ‘‘because they won’t understand Italian’’.

While the adoption and passport details are being worked out, Alka is getting ready for an intensive course in Italian in Delhi. Her mother is also busy, making ghee for her daughter to take with her. ‘‘Now Alka will get an opportunity of a lifetime,’’ says the mother. ‘‘She will become a big person, like a sarpanch I suppose.’’