Patricia Eriksson, a 41-year-old woman from Sweden, is in Nagpur, India, searching for the biological mother who gave her up for adoption four decades ago. Eriksson was born in Daga Hospital in Nagpur in February 1983 and adopted by a Swedish couple a year later.
This is Ms Eriksson's second visit to Nagpur. Despite facing challenges in her search, she is determined to find her birth mother. She is grateful to her adoptive parents but longs to connect with her biological roots. Anjali Pawar is assisting Eriksson in her emotional quest.
Reporters asked her about the moment she realised the woman who raised her wasn't her biological mother. In response, she stated that "the kids in school started to explain that they have their mother's hair and father's nose. Then I realised I couldn't do the same. From a child's perspective, you cannot compare yourself to your mother. You are just put in a place where you don't look like anyone else. So that's why my thought (of searching for my biological mother) started... I hope this can lead to something more."
#WATCH | Nagpur, Maharashtra: Swedish National Patricia Eriksson comes to Nagpur to search for her biological mother.
She says, "The kids in school started to explain that they have their mother's hair and father's nose. Then I realised I couldn't do the same... From a child's… pic.twitter.com/bcyXL4se6o
Advocate Anjali Pawar, who is helping Patricia in search of her biological mother, said, "We are helping Patricia in her search... Anyone who used to live in Shantinagar in 1983 and knows her or knows about Shanta and Ramdas should come forward and help us. Patricia wants to meet her mother once."
This isn't the first time a woman from another country has sought her biological parents in India. In December of last year, Vidhya Philippon, a Swiss woman, was also on the quest to find her biological mother in Mumbai. By 2023, she had been searching for a decade. Her only lead is her mother's last name and address, which no longer exist.
Ms Philippon was born on February 8, 1996, and her mother left her at the Missionaries of Charity. She was then adopted in 1997 by a Swiss couple and brought to Switzerland.