Mumbai:
Enter the main hall at Sharanam, Nirmal Chinappa's home in Matunga, and you'll find girls of all ages comfortably seated in their little corners -- some studying, some gossiping, others browsing through their Facebook accounts or researching for a school project on old laptops.
They are 30 in all, either orphans or abandoned by their families or runaway children. But this is not a shelter home. These girls have been adopted by Chinappa and his wife Sharda, who share their three-room home with them.
"Eight-year-old Sonam was the first to enter our family," says Chinappa, director, CORP, an NGO that works in the area of children and women's development. He started as a volunteer with the same NGO before reaching the top position. Chinappa got unstinted support from Sharda, also a volunteer with the same NGO. The socially inclined duo got married in May 2000 and started Sharanam (what they call their home) in June the same year. "Sonam was my first child. Over the years I have become a mother of 30 beautiful girls," laughs Sharda.
The couple has two children of their own, Jennifer, 3, and Jonah, 10.
Sharda admits it has not been an easy ride. "The first few years were a nightmare," she says. The fact that the girls came from different backgrounds and often used foul language, meant she had to be extremely patient. "As the girls grew older, they started looking after the younger ones. And I knew I could take it easy," says Sharda.
Bharti, 17, one of the girls, just appeared for her tenth standard exams. She has completed a photography course and interned with a tabloid for seven months. "I want to direct documentaries," Bharti says, as she excitedly runs to fetch her priced possession, a Nikon D300, recently gifted by Chinappa.
For 16-year-old Chanda, who will appear for her boards next year, Sharda is her mother and not didi. "One fine day she suddenly walked up to me and said 'can I call you maa'," says Sharda. Chanda who holds a diploma in classical dance, and has performed on stage with the Shiamak Davar troop, wishes to be a Bollywood choreographer.
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