Vidya Liselotte shared a concern that many children who are adopted face, wondering, “What were my biological parents like, what characteristics did I inherit from them?” She was adopted at three months in India by a Swedish couple, and it was a closed adoption. She grew up in Sweden and became a singer. Because of physical traits from her adopted family, Vidya stated, “I don’t remember not knowing that I was adopted at any point of my life. It was apparent right from the beginning.”
Vidya often wanted to know more about her biological family, and this intensified when she was ten and her parents divorced. At 15 years old, Vidya was given a letter written by her birth mother, in which her birth mother expressed her love in placing Vidya for adoption. Vidya stated, “Suddenly, I knew where I came from, it was my history. I read it a couple times and then just knew every word by heart”.
After completing school, Vidya started volunteering and working with children in Nepal. While in Nepal, she made several visits to India and visited the orphanage she was in as a baby. She was looking for answers but the orphanage refused to share any information in her file.
Vidya returned home and had a child with her partner. As a result, she felt an even stronger pull to gain information about her biological mother. She contacted the organization Against Child Trafficking, “a Dutch organization that helps adopted children search for their roots.”
Through this agency, she learned her biological mother’s name, email, picture, FaceTime phone call, and eventually meeting in person. Vidya recalls the first meeting: “I hugged her and felt her bone structure. As we spoke, I spotted our similarities–both of us are very sure of what we want and don’t want, and have very well-tuned antennas. There are not traits I share with my adoptive parents, though they are wonderful people.”
Vidya now lives back in Sweden but keeps in touch with her biological mother. Vidya summarizes the relationship: “It is as if the most important piece of the jigsaw puzzle of my life has been found.”
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