It has been exactly 375 days since Geet Oberoi of Orkids, a special
education centre in New Delhi, become mum to one-year-old Indya
Priyadarshini. Geet is a single mum who waited for almost two and a half
years before her dream of taking a daughter home was realized. “By the time
I hit the big 30, I knew that I was not likely to marry.
But I did want a child, in fact three, and felt that there was no need to wait until marriage
happened, to become a mum. Adoption was the answer for me,” says the
35-year-old. With support from her mother and sisters, Oberoi filed adoption
papers and says that her own mother was a real source of strength as far as
taking the decision to be a single adoptive mother was concerned.
“She was the one who told all our relatives and friends that since I was doing well
in my career, there was no need for me to wait till I was married to become
a mum. Being a single mother of sorts herself (Kamlesh Oberoi was widowed
when Geet was only five-years-old and has brought up her three daughters,
Geet and her twin sisters, almost single-handedly), my mother always felt
that I would do justice to a child I brought home.” With Indya, Geet says
her life has become more meaningful and rich. “In a couple of months, I
intend to file papers to get home another daughter. Wish me luck.”
Seema Chowdhry Sharma