Sad plight

When the world celebrated Mother’s Day on May 13, this 85-year-old ‘Mother India’ continued to fight for her daily bread in Umra, a village about 50 km from Surat.

Bhikhiben Nayka, who does odd jobs for a living, played a body double for yesteryear actress Nargis in the 1957 Bollywood blockbuster ‘Mother India’. She also played Nargis’ mother in the film.

In 2003, when Sunil Dutt, the hero of ‘Mother India’
visited Umra, he had promised her monetary help. However, nothing materialised.