On Diwali earlier this month, Swara Bhasker visited a local orphanage in Delhi to celebrate the festival with young girls. It was during this visit, interacting and playing with them, that she felt a shift inside. The pangs of motherhood, perhaps? Nothing so dramatic, she insists — just the quiet knowledge that she was ready to start a family. The actor has since registered as a Prospective Adoptive Parent with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), and is on the waiting list to adopt a child.

Bhasker — who had visited an orphanage in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, in March — says the idea had been playing on her mind for quite some time, but it’s only recently that she arrived at the decision. “There are more than 2.9 crore orphan children in India according to the UNICEF. Less than 5 lakh of them are in orphanages. These are staggering numbers. Moreover, according to the Juvenile Justice [Care and Protection of Children] Act 2015, once these orphans turn 18, the State abandons their care. That means they are on the street,” emphasises the actor.