“Yaha rishte bante hai; Here, relationships are formed.” ~ Mamata Sapakal
Sindhutai Sapakal’s life story is a profound account of unwavering love and compassion, showcasing the ‘Maai’ (mother) of thousands who single handedly transformed the lives of orphans into families. Her story begins from the life-sucking road for a nine month pregnant women desperate of help, only met with abandonment from her husband. With no medical help, she gave birth using a sharp stone to cut the umbilical cord. It is a memory her daughter Mamata Sapakal still finds painful to recall.
A Mother to the Abandoned
While she had four biological children, Sindhutai’s motherhood extended to thousands of orphans she raised through her orphanage in Pune, founded in 1998. It was here that hundreds of children found not just refuge, but belonging. As more children arrived, her sanstha evolved into something far greater than a shelter, it became a family. Food, education, love, and shelter were offered freely, as if pulled from the infinite reserves of her soul.
Unlike many who merely preach empathy, Sindhutai transformed it into action. She knew the cruelty of being unloved and the agony of starvation, not from afar, but from lived experience. And that made her care real, not performative, but profoundly instinctive.
From Child Bride to Changemaker
Soon after she turned 12, Sindhutai was married off and by the age of twelve, she had given birth to three children. While pregnant with her fourth, she boldly spoke out against the unjust treatment of women who collected cow dung, an act that led to character assassination and her abandonment.
Ostracised and left to fend for herself with a newborn, she begged on the streets. But what could have been her undoing became her transformation. In her moment of deepest despair, she chose to give the love she never received.
Living by Faith and Feeding Hope
In her early days of struggle, Sindhutai once used flour left behind at a cremation site to bake bread over the fire that still smouldered with a dead body. These brutal experiences deepened her empathy.
Every time she saw a child begging, she would bring them in, bathe them, clothe them, and mother them as her own. Her love language was deeply tactile, gentle baths, stitched clothes, healing balms, and warm embraces.
Mamata Carries the Flame
After Sindhutai’s passing in 2022, her daughter Mamata Sapakal stepped in to carry the legacy forward. Having studied social work, Mamata now oversees the Sindhutai Sapakal Foundation. She remembers growing up in the sanstha, surrounded by hundreds of children who all called her mother ‘Maai’. “I never questioned it,” she says. “It was as if God had chosen her to play this role.”
Mamata has transformed admiration into action, helping the Foundation grow its initiatives with the same sincerity her mother exemplified.
A Legacy of Empowerment
One of the Foundation’s shining examples is Manjusha Gopal Gaikwad, who was left at the sanstha in Class 6. Today, she is the sarpanch (village head) of Kumbharvalan in Pune. Inspired by Maai’s teachings, Manjusha now leads self-help groups that empower women. “When I became sarpanch, she reminded me that it was time for me to help the village that once helped us,” she says.
More Than an Orphanage
The Foundation’s reach extends beyond basic care. ‘Sanmati Bal Niketan’ supports underprivileged children with holistic care; ‘Tirtharup Educational Residential Center’ provides shelter for abandoned or neglected children; and ‘Gopika Gai Rakshan Kendra’ protects cows that have been cast aside. All these reflect Sindhutai’s ethos: to care for the abandoned, whether human or animal.
Humility in Every Gesture
Sindhutai was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021, but she never sought recognition. For Mamata, the true measure of her mother’s greatness was in the way she made compassion seem normal. “I thought this is how every household works,” she admits. It is that quiet humility and boundless affection that continue to shape lives through the Foundation today.
Love as a Legacy
Even in her absence, Sindhutai’s presence is deeply felt. The children she raised, the lives she changed, and the spirit she left behind are living testaments to what it means to give selflessly. As Mamata beautifully puts it, “This isn’t just another orphanage, yaha rishte bante hai (Here, relationships are formed).”
