Remember Leelavati Dadi Who Was Abandoned by Her Son in Mumbai? She’s Found a New Home

Social Commentary

Remember Leelavati Dadi Who Was Abandoned by Her Son in Mumbai? She’s Found a New Home

leelavatidadi
Illustration: Reynold Mascarenhas

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed us to some tragic realities and heartbreaking stories, from the baby who tried to wake up her dead mother, to the old woman who was abandoned by her son in Mumbai. But humanity hasn’t lost yet.  The toddler from Muzaffarpur railway station has found a guardian in Shah Rukh Khan and the grandma, now known by many as Leelavati Dadi, has found a home.

On June 1, journalist Barkha Dutt brought us the heartbreaking story of 70-year-old Leelavati, stranded alone at Bandra station with nothing but a pack of Parle-G biscuits and a bag. Her son, whom she was visiting, took all her money, beat her up, and chased her out of the house. “Kya karu main?” the helpless Leelavati asked.

The story went viral and people started sharing it with Sonu Sood, who has become a saviour of sorts of migrants in the city.

Sood eventually addressed the barrage of messages on Twitter. “Today will be a special day for her,” he said. We knew that this would end well.

Leelavati Dadi was soon beaming with happiness. She was back in Delhi and has been taken in by a family. National spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member from the Aam Aadmi Party, Sanjay Singh, took to Twitter to announce, “Mother Lilavati ji has come to Delhi, her husband late Kedar Nath Dubey ji is not in the world, the son expelled from the house but there is no shortage of good people in the world. Kiran Verma, a social entrepreneur has taken the responsibility of keeping the mother with him, we salute his spirit and all should take inspiration from such youth.”

“I am blessed with another Grandmother. Thank you everyone,” said Kiran Verma. He also thanked Singh for providing the best possible support.

A COVID-19 test has been conducted on the old woman. “We are waiting to get the report. But to make her safe, we won’t bring her out for three four days. She is doing great and very happy with us,” he tweeted. Verma even shared a number through which people could ping him and talk to her if they so wished.

Mojo Story shared a wholesome video shot by Verma where you can see Leelavati interacting with the neighbours and their kids. She has already made friends there, which includes a couple of cats. “Bahot acha lag raha hai,” she said with a big smile on her face, when asked how she was doing now.

Barkha Dutt who reported the story and Kiran Verma, who adopted Leelavati Dadi got much-deserved praise from users online. Finally a positive story from 2020 that could cheer us all up. Let’s hope there are more to follow soon.

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