JHARKHAND: Any parent would know that raising a child is no mean feat. And Hare Ram Pandey (70) of Jharkhand’s Deoghar knows a thing or two about it. After all, this Bihar native has been raising not one nor two but 35 orphaned girls at his home for the past two decades.
Originally hailing from Bhagalpur, Pandey moved to an adjoining district in Jharkhand in 2,000 following a family dispute and started a garment business. Although Pandey had two children — a boy and a girl — with his wife, the hustle and bustle disappeared from his home once they moved out after getting married.
But his life took a different turn when a newborn girl child was found abandoned in the bushes near his house in December 2004. The baby had ants crawling all over it. The insects had devoured her umbilical cord. Concerned, Pandey rushed the baby girl to a nearby hospital and spent Rs 25,000 out of his own pocket for her treatment and brought her home once she was stable. Pandey and his wife gave the girl a new lease of life by choosing to adopt her. Looking after the girl they later named Tapsi gave his life a whole new purpose.
Years later, in 2006, another baby girl was found abandoned in the lavatory of a train at the Jasidih Junction station. Although a woman initially expressed her interest in adopting the girl, she had a change of mind when she learnt that the baby was visually impaired.
Pandey and his wife, however, welcomed the child into their home with open arms. Pandey later founded the Narayan Seva Ashram and got it registered as a trust. The ashram is currently home to 35 girls. “Now, I am a proud father of 35 girls,” Pandey beams, adding, “Some of them call me ‘Papa’, while the others address me as ‘Baba’. Three of them are married, while six others are in Patna and Bhagalpur, preparing for a medical entrance examination. The rest are studying in a DAV School in Deoghar.”
His efforts to help abandoned children were frowned upon by many in the beginning. “Initially, my friends and relatives used to make fun of me,” he recalls, adding, “But as time passed, they realised that I was right.”
Mast Ram Meena, then the Deputy Commissioner of Deoghar, appreciated Pandey’s dedication to ensuring that no girl child is left to fend for herself. “It is rare to find such noble people in society these days,” he said.
Ask Pandey what challenges he faced, and pat comes his response: “With no stable source of income, it was very difficult to arrange three meals every day for so many girls. They even went to bed several nights on an empty stomach.” But he remained unfazed. He sold off many of his belongings so that he could provide for these girls. At one point, he even had to seek alms to get by.
But his life changed for the better when he got a call from veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan asking him to appear on Kaun Banega Crorepati. He not only took home a handsome amount, but also his appearance on the wildly popular show thrust him into the national limelight and helped bring widespread attention to his good deeds. Donations started pouring in from around the world in no time.
“Now, we don’t have to sleep on an empty stomach,” Pandey smiles, expressing gratitude to the donors. Pandey’s son and daughter-in-law have also lent him a helping hand. Tapsi, now all grown up, pledges, “I will not let Baba’s efforts go in vain. I am preparing for a medical entrance examination. If everything goes well, I will eventually go for the civil services and become an IAS officer.”