Very recently, Dev Patel and Sunny Pawar earned accolades all around the world for their impeccable performances in ‘Lion’. The real life story of a boy who traced his biological family from thousands of miles away after getting adopted by Australian parents made every one of us cry.
And now, a woman is trying to do the same thing.
Jessica Kamalini Lindher, a 36-year-old woman from Sweden has come all the way to Mumbai to find her ‘real’ family. On Holi, she met with the cop who found her lying near Sion hospital when she was 17 months old.
Now married with two kids, she was adopted by a Swedish couple from ‘Shree Manav Seva Sangh’ orphanage in Sion in 1982.
Jessica first visited India in 1999 to trace her parents but couldn’t do it because of rules regarding adoption. She returned in 2016 after the rules got changed and is now visiting for the third time with her Australian husband and kids.
“I want to know my roots and my parents. The language my parents speak. I was told my some that I look like a South Indian. I don’t want my children to be disconnected with the culture and language.”
Back in 1999, the regulations in India did not give her the authority to get information about her biological parents.
However, unlike the movie, Jessica’s parents didn’t support the idea of her looking for her biological parents, even calling India a place where children get stolen. Speaking of the movie and her life, Jessica said,
 “It’s all just too convenient. And the film is made to pander to the Westerners’ belief that they are ‘saving’ the poor and needy by adopting from India.”
In her quest, Jessica was helped by Anjali Pawar, an advocate who found Gaonkar, the cop who found Jessica as a kid and now a sub-inspector.
“I was helped by Mumbai police who gave me his (Gaonkar’s) current details. After which I met him and showed him Jessica’s pictures as kid and he recognised her.”
Gaonkar said that he looked for Jessica’s parents in the nearby area and informed all police stations. However, when no missing complaint was found, he handed her to the NGO.Â
Unlike the movie, Jessica was probably abandoned by her parents and not lost, according to Gaonkar’s statement.
Jessica’s efforts might not have born fruit, but the trip would have certainly brought a much-needed closure in her life. She is no less than a warrior for not giving up hope and her story is an inspiration for everyone looking for a missing piece of a puzzle in their lives.
News Source: India Today