Born in 1937 and raised in Jodhpur and holding a PhD in Hindi literature, Dr Agarwal is an eminent writer, poetess and Founder of Manisha Mandir. She authored short stories and collections of poetry, novels. She has received numerous awards for her work, including Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award, conferred to her by Hon’ble President of India. Accolades mean little to Dr Agrawal, who worked tirelessly for the girl child. She set up Manisha Higher Education Scholarship to promote Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, Beti Badhao and facilitate higher education among girls from poor families.

Her eight-year-old daughter Manisha died in a road accident in 1978. What made the catastrophe unbearably painful for Dr Agrawal was the fact that she was driving the two-wheeler on which little Manisha was riding pillion. Why my child? The question nagged her persistently till, as Dr Agrawal says,
the answer finally came to her:

“I was lamenting the loss of one when there were so many other Manish as, homeless and unloved, looking for a mother. Perhaps I could give them a  loving home,” she recalls.

And so Manisha Mandir was set up in 1985 in three rooms in her own house with Dr Agrawal pouring into it all the money she had earned in royalty from her books. She registered the Manisha Mandir in 1988 as a Voluntary Social Service Organization. The first girl she adopted was a deaf and mute child whose mother, a divorcee, had died while giving birth. Shivi, as she named the little one, was soon followed by two sisters whose mother had also died in an accident. Other girls followed – some who were found abandoned, others given up as unwanted while some others were picked up from the streets. A few also found their way out of brothels. Dr. Sarojini Agrawal and her husband Er. Vinod Chandra Agrawal started living with these orphan children in the Manisha Mandir Ashram established by her in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow. Her husband passed away in 2024, but she is still living in this Ashram to serve society.

Caregiver, companion, confidant and educator to hundreds of girls, Dr Sarojini Agarwal is much more than just a name. A true inspiration, she has proved that if you are dedicated, nothing can stop you from changing the lives of people around you. We salute this compassionate lady and hope that the country gives birth to many such strong daughters and mothers.