Couple overcome child widow ‘stigma’ to reunite with baby

When she was born, her unwed mother’s first impulse was to abandon her. And she did, at a public toilet in Anjar town of Kutch district.

When she was born, her unwed mother’s first impulse was to abandon her. And she did, at a public toilet in Anjar town of Kutch district. But now, the eight-day-old baby girl has proved to be the reason her parents, Mangu and Govardhan Singh, are spending days together. Married.

Mangu (20), a child widow, and Singh (30) were in love, but could not marry as the community Mangu belongs to forbids widows from remarrying. Mangu, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, was first married off when she was six. She became a widow at 10. It was while working as a labourer in Anjar that she met Singh, who also hails from Uttar Pradesh. The two had a baby daughter, but fearing social stigma, Mangu abandoned the newborn on September 18.

But fate decided otherwise.

Barely a few hours after the baby girl was left at the public toilet, the police were informed. They took her to the Referral Hospital. “The baby was a few hours old when she was brought to us. Her condition was serious,” said Dr Hitesh Thakkar, a General Surgeon with the hospital.

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In fact, the credit for reuniting the baby’s parents goes to him and his wife, Yamini, who is a human resource consultant. Initially, the Thakkars had decided to adopt the baby, but when the Anjar police located the parents and arrested them, the couple changed their mind and first bailed Mangu and Singh out and then gave them financial and moral support to help them get married.

The Thakkars already had four daughters. “But we were more than happy to welcome a fifth child into our family. So we initiated the procedure for adoption on September 20. By that time, the police had managed to trace Mangu and Singh. So we decided to drop the adoption plan,” said Yamini. At first, the duo was hesitant to accept the child. But after long counselling sessions with Yamini, on September 23, almost a week after the baby was abandoned, Mangu and Singh got married. From the naamkaran of the baby to the mehndi, pithi — all functions were held at the Thakkars’ house.

“We are happy to be able to start a family together,” said Singh. He is currently looking for a good job to run his new family. Mangu added: “I never wanted to leave her. But I did not have the courage to raise her alone or to go against the community and marry Singh.”