Vandana Gopikumar

When Vandana Gopikumar is around, happiness seems to multiply.

In the song ‘Praying for Time’, George Michael complained that charity is a coat we wear twice a year. For this extraordinary woman though, it’s her life’s mission to ease suffering as and when she’s confronted by it.

Vandana Gopikumar founded The Banyan, an NGO for the welfare of homeless women with mental health issues. Through her team’s relentless efforts over the past fifteen years, she has shattered misconceptions about mental illness and reshaped the lives of countless women. A lesser-known side to her personality is her passion for animal welfare. She’s undertaken many courageous adoptions, including crippled animals and some that were completely blind. If not for The Banyan’s staff, these dogs would’ve died miserable, unnoticed deaths.

She recounts her rescues matter-of-factly even though the details are harrowing. “Once in Valarasarawakkam, we heard a faint whine. We backtracked and found a dog tied in barbed wire. We took her with us and it’s been four years now. Waffles is the most alert, intelligent dog we’ve ever seen. You can’t enter our Mogappair centre without her clearance”.

Her work, be it with people or animals, is inter-related. “Waffles is a survivor- an inspiration to the women of The Banyan”, she says proudly, referring to the doe-eyed handicapped dog that showers her with boisterous affection. She mentions an elderly woman, Bindu - a former patient of The Banyan who has recently begun working there as well. “Four months ago, a vehicle in Thiruvanmyur knocked over this dog that began yelping in extreme pain. Though our vet said it was a very difficult case, Bindu healed the dog until she was back on all fours”. Vandana reveals that the dog’s affection for her healer was life-altering. “Bindu’s existence had gained meaning”, she says. While several happy endings come about when she lends a hand, she’s deeply distressed by the apathy of hit-and-run drivers. “How can someone hit a living thing and just keep going?”

Vandana is poetic when she speaks of her bond with animals. “There are no prerequisites for a relationship with an animal, no negotiations, no barriers, no artificiality. It’s an unconditional interaction that happens on an evolved plane. You could be throwing a ball with a dog and experience serenity: a sense of just being”. On being asked what led to her choosing the path of service to others, she responds- “There’s no ‘giving’ whatsoever. I do all this for my own happiness.”