Reunited after 24 years: The heart-wrenching journey of two sisters separated by tragedy
While Sarasu and her brothers were building their lives in Kerala, Saranya was growing up in Hyderabad. Her adoptive parents raised her with utmost love but eventually chose to reveal the truth about her biological family.
While Sarasu and her brothers were building their lives in Kerala, Saranya was growing up in Hyderabad. Her adoptive parents raised her with utmost love but eventually chose to reveal the truth about her biological family.
While Sarasu and her brothers were building their lives in Kerala, Saranya was growing up in Hyderabad. Her adoptive parents raised her with utmost love but eventually chose to reveal the truth about her biological family.
In 2002, a haunting photograph of a five-year-old girl carrying a bucket on her head while clutching her toddler twin brothers captured the hearts of people across Kerala. That little girl was Sarasu. Beneath her immense struggle for survival lay a silent, painful secret: the memory of her baby sister, Saranya, who had been sold into adoption by their desperate, alcoholic father. Now, after 24 long years of separation and silent tears, the sisters have finally reunited.
The tragic journey of the siblings began after their mother passed away. Their father migrated with the children from Kallakurichi in Tamil Nadu to Alakode in Kannur. Struggling with severe alcoholism and poverty, the father had given away infant Saranya to strangers before they moved. Soon after arriving in Kerala, the family was left homeless, forced to seek shelter on shop verandas. Only little Sarasu carried the memory of the sister they had left behind.
A life-changing intervention
The publication of Sarasu's photograph in Malayala Manorama in 2002 changed the course of their lives. Deeply moved by their plight, Kalayapuram Jose, the general secretary of the Ashraya social welfare organisation, and his wife Mini Jose stepped in. They welcomed Sarasu and her twin brothers, Umesh and Suresh, into their shelter home in Kottarakkara, providing them with a secure future.
Under the loving care of the Ashraya family, the siblings flourished. Sarasu pursued her education diligently, eventually earning a Master's degree in Social Work (MSW). She is now happily married to Nithin, a civil engineer from Kannur. Her twin brothers completed their vocational training at an ITI and are now gainfully employed, standing independent and proud.
The search for lost roots
While Sarasu and her brothers were building their lives in Kerala, Saranya was growing up in Hyderabad. Her adoptive parents raised her with utmost love but eventually chose to reveal the truth about her biological family. Driven by a deep yearning to connect with her roots, Saranya, with the unwavering support of her husband Raghuram, embarked on a tireless, months-long quest to locate her siblings.
Her search finally led her to the Ashraya shelter home in Kottarakkara. Travelling from Hyderabad with her husband and children, Saranya walked into the home to find Sarasu, Umesh, and Suresh waiting for her. The emotional reunion was marked by tears of relief and joy as the siblings held each other tight, finally bridging a 24-year-old void just in time for a joyous Onam celebration.