“Besides taking care of Rik, I had to visit my shop for at least a few hours every day. The owner of a sari boutique, she couldn’t miss work for a long time. Nikanjana’s situation was even more challenging. Feeding, bathing and cooking were what I did the entire day,” Srimita said.
I still remember those sleepless days as I struggled to soothe Srotoswini. “I got maternity leave from my office and devoted my entire time to my son. Despite having proper support systems, they both lacked experience and struggled like any other first-time mother. The first couple of months were extremely challenging. Srotoswini is three now and the bond has only strengthened with time. So, right after I brought Srotoswini home, they became guardians for both of us,” she said. “The married couple next door always wanted a child but couldn’t have one. But I didn’t go back to depression because my father was there,” she said.įor Srimita, her neighbours came to her rescue. “Our life went through a lot of change after I adopted Rik in 2019. Nilanjana’s father filled that role happily. “Soon, I was certain that it was possible to raise a child without a father and made up my mind.”Ī child may grow up without a father, but Nilanjana learnt that a father figure was essential. I earn enough to run a family and thus decided to start a family on my own,” said the Salt Lake-based techie who joined a single mothers’ forum and started communicating with them before taking the leap. It is legal for a single woman to adopt a child and I didn’t want to complicate things with a relationship. I realised that it is possible for a single person to meet the child’s needs of both parents,” she said.įor Srimita, it was more about challenging the patriarchal system. “Several sessions later, two things happened: I slowly started to get back on my feet and I realised that I could still become a mother. It was Nilanjana’s father who had taken his daughter to a counsellor to help her cope with the trauma of a broken marriage. It was then that I decided, with my father’s support, to fulfil my dream of becoming a mother,” the Barasat-based entrepreneur said. “After my break-up, I slipped into severe depression and became a workaholic. I could imagine what a struggle it could be and I was not confident of pulling it off successfully,” said Nilanjana, who was 34 when she separated from her husband.įour years after adopting Rik - with her own father’s support at every step - not an inkling of doubt remains in Nilanjana’s mind. “That was probably the reason I was not 100% sure of my decision initially. Nilanjana and Srimita grew up hearing about the importance of a ‘complete family unit’ - having both parents - in a child’s life.
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