Orphaned kids help woman beat 14-year-old mental illness

VADODARA: She was just 19 when her husband and in-laws dumped her for not being able to conceive. Unable to take the trauma, Sujata (name changed) lost her mental balance. Her younger brother, who worked with ONGC, brought her to Tarsali-based Sevatirth, a home for destitute, for treatment but never returned to take her back.
Psychiatrist treatment had little effect on Sujata, now 35, who suffered from severe clinical depression and went into a shell.But six months back, doctors and caretakers saw it as a miracle when her condition started improving.
Sujata found her elixir in two differently abled children - Chinmay and Bhavya - who were brought to Sevatirth after being found dumped in bushes. She could never become a biological mother but has donned the role for these kids.
"Most of us had given up on her condition as no psychiatric treatment was effective. But arrival of these two children started working miracles. We thought she would need a caretaker for life but in fact she has become the caretaker of the children," said Purushottam Panchal, who heads Sevatirth.
Sujata now stays in separate quarters with the two boys as a family of three.
"Bhavya was found in Bhavnagar and Chinmay came to us from Junagadh through some local NGOs. Both of them have impairments in their limbs and suffer from over 60 per cent disability. They need speech therapies. Chinmay suffers from a rare condition in which his fore brain and hind brain are fused. Despite their numerous problems, they make a perfect family," Panchal added.
In fact, Sujata volunteered to take care of the boys after three governesses left the home in less than three months.
"They are my sons and that is all I know. I have never been happier. I will ensure that they study and settle as any normal person in the society," Sujata said.
She now wants to fulfil her dreams through Chinmay and Bhavya. "I wanted to become a doctor but my parents could not afford the fees. So I went on to study English to become a teacher. I want Bhavya to become a doctor and Chinmay a teacher," Sujata told TOI.