On the lookout: Shanti (left) when she was 17 pictured with Nandawathi. (Below) Shanti today.
KLANG: All retired nurse Shanti Paramaguru wants is to connect with her birth mother who goes by the name Shanta.
“I was told that my mother was an underaged girl who was impregnated by an older man who already had a family, and both worked at a cinema in Jalan Campbell (now Jalan Dang Wangi) in Kuala Lumpur.
“She was only 16 when she had me,’’ said Shanti, 56, who resides in Melbourne, Australia.
According to Shanti, she managed to track down the family of the man believed to be her father, but they were not very receptive and declined to have a DNA test to confirm their possible link.
The man, believed to be her biological father, passed away two decades before she embarked on her search.
“If they (DNA tests) match, then he is my father and Shanta is my mother. If they don’t match, I can move on with my search through the Welfare Department,” said Shanti, who moved to Australia in 1994.
She wished to meet her biological mother to let her know that she is doing fine.
“I also want to know if I can help her in any way,’’ said Shanti, who was born on April 17, 1967, at Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
She was placed at a government orphanage in Cheras and was adopted in 1970 by police officer Paramaguru Chinnathamy and social worker Nandawathi Masacorale, who both died about 20 years ago.
Shanti said she grew up believing her birth mother had abandoned her at the hospital and her father died before she was born.
“But I found out that I was taken away from my biological mother by the authorities.
“I was initially cared for by my biological father’s sister-in-law but was then taken away from there by my maternal grandmother and sent to the government orphanage,’’ said Shanti.
The lady who first took care of her, now 90, lives in Gombak, but her family declined to allow her to meet the nonagenarian.
She added that her name on her birth certificate was Jegaranee, and her biological mother’s name was written as Chandra Seravanan, but she later found out that her mother’s name was actually Shanta.
Shanti also said someone informed her that it was standard practice for Welfare Department officers to sort out the necessary paperwork with biological mothers in the event of any adoption.
“I recall my adopted mother telling me in 1992 that she had met my (biological) mother and saw that she had a blue identity card (issued for Malaysians).
“So, I believe the Welfare Department would have copies of the documents,’’ said Shanti, who appealed to those who have information to contact her through scparamaguru31@gmail.com.
