Belgian daughter returns to reunite with family in Odisha's Kandhamal district after 29 years

Krushna and his family members could barely recognise Mamina till she narrated, through a lawyer, that she was his biological daughter.

PHULBANI: When 29-year-old Mamina met Krushna Chandra Rana on Tuesday, it seemed like Saroo Brierley's memoir 'A Long Way Home' - later adapted into the heart-warming Hollywood film 'Lion' - had come alive in Kandhamal's remote Gujapanga village.

Krushna and his family members could barely recognise Mamina till she narrated, through a lawyer, that she was his biological daughter. The emotions that followed were a blend of disbelief and ecstasy. The 29-year-old woman had traveled all the way from Belgium to trace her family in the small village under Raikia block. And it took the story 29 years back in time.

She was all of three months when a Belgian couple adopted her in 1993. Krushna had lost his wife and worried about raising the baby, he left her in custody of Subhadra Mahatab Seva Sadan, a childcare centre at G.Udayagiri, hoping she would get a better life.

Destiny had other plans and a couple of Belgium legally adopted Mamina and took her to their country where she grew up to become a software engineer and married a Belgian. Though Mamina cannot speak Odia, she has retained her original name.

All these years, she had remained unaware of her past but during a trip to Cambodia, she was asked about her origin which sent her looking for her roots. After a lot of efforts, she came to know from her adoptive parents that she is of Indian origin and that too, from Odisha's Kandhamal district.

After some research, she got the address of the village as she wanted to reunite with her real family. Since it was not an easy task to meet the family living in a remote village of Kandhamal, Mamina took the help of a lawyer from Pune who made all arrangements.

Mamina with her husband reached the village on July 5, after a gap of 29 years. When she met her father and family members, they were surprised to see a 'foreigner' at their doorsteps claiming to be the daughter. Recalling the past events, Krushna's happiness knew no bounds when he saw his baby girl now a citizen of Belgium.

Mamina too was overwhelmed after seeing her father and sister. Krushna said that he had visited the orphanage a few times after leaving a kid Mamina there. Thinking that the child might have perished, he chose to forget the whole episode. But when he saw her on Tuesday, he couldn't believe his eyes.

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