Nagpur: For Falgun Binnendijk, the Mayor of Heemstede in the Netherlands, life has come full circle, yet one chapter remains painfully unfinished. Born in Nagpur on February 10, 1985, Falgun was abandoned at a city shelter just three days after his birth. A month later, he was adopted by a Dutch couple and taken thousands of miles away, beginning a life that would eventually lead him to public service and the mayor’s office in Europe. But despite his achievements and a fulfilled family life, the pull of his origins has never faded.
Media reports say Falgun’s biological mother was just 21 years old at the time, unmarried and without support. Left with no choice, she entrusted her newborn to a shelter in Nagpur. At Matru Seva Sangh (MSS), a nurse named the infant “Falgun,” after the Hindu calendar month in which he was born, an act of quiet compassion that would later take on deep meaning.
Gold Rate
13 Jan 2026
Growing up in the Netherlands, Falgun always knew he was adopted. He says he made peace with that truth early in life. Yet, like Karna of the Mahabharata, raised by another family but forever haunted by questions of birth, Falgun felt an unrelenting need to find his “Kunti,” the woman who gave him life.
That search began in 2017. Since then, Falgun has travelled to Nagpur three times, each visit filled with hope, disappointment, and renewed resolve. During a visit in August 2024, he approached Matru Seva Sangh in the hope that old records might lead him to his mother. Officials were able to trace documents that revealed her name, but no address was listed.
“At that moment, I felt maybe this is it,” Falgun later recalled. “My life felt complete in every way, except for this one unfinished business.”
A breakthrough finally came during his most recent visit in December 2025. A team led by senior official Vinod Jadhav traced a retired nurse from Matru Seva Sangh, the very woman who had named him as a newborn. Meeting her proved to be an emotional turning point.
“It was overwhelming,” Falgun told a local newspaper. “She remembered everything. In that moment, I realised I was speaking to the woman who gave me my identity.”
Though the meeting did not lead him directly to his biological mother, it strengthened his resolve. Falgun believes his mother may still be living with guilt, carrying the weight of a decision made under desperate circumstances.
“I think she may believe she did something unpardonable,” he said. “I just want to meet her once and tell her that I have a beautiful life, that her child grew up loved.”
Now 40, Falgun draws strength from his wife and four children, who have supported him throughout his journey. Reflecting his connection to both worlds, he has given his children a blend of Indian and Dutch names. According to reports, one of his daughters is named after his biological mother, a quiet tribute to a woman he has yet to meet.
“Every Karna deserves, and must have the right, to meet his Kunti,” Falgun says, holding on to hope.
Despite years of unanswered questions, the Mayor of Heemstede has not given up. He plans to return to Nagpur in 2027, determined to continue his search, not for closure alone, but for a moment of human connection that transcends borders, time, and circumstance.
