The history of Gandhibhavan is the life story of Dr. Punalur Somarajan. His entry into the world of charity wasn’t haphazard. Rajan was an orphan of sorts. He lost his mother Saradha in his early childhood making him yearn for motherly affection and kisses of love. So he thought everyone whom he saw lying on wayside unnoticed by anyone lacked what he lacked – A mothers love. As a result the destitute whom he met on his way to school grab his attention and haunted his mind. While in the classroom or sitting in front of the lunch box or buckling down to study his mind was overwhelmed by this single thought – “what makes someone an orphan?”

Chellappan, Rajan’s father was also a Samaritan. Rajan used to see his father bringing the poor and drifters home. He bathed them, gave a pair of clothes and a square. When Rajan grew up into Dr. Somarajan, he found the answer which magged him in his childhood. That answer morphed in to a more practical solution to the question. That is Gandhibhavan. A great institution which strives to blot out the word “orphan” from our social discourse. It is virtually an asylum for many.