An ordinary person from Jharkhand reached extraordinary heights because of his benevolent heart.

Meet Hare Ram Pandey, who has been raising abandoned girls almost single-handedly for over two decades. The 66-year-old, who has founded Narayan Seva Ashram in Deoghar, will appear on television on Monday evening as he has been invited to take part in a reality show, anchored by none other than Amitabh Bachchan.

“It all started when a newborn girl was found abandoned near my house nearly two decades ago,” Pandey said about his taking up the mission. The girl had to be treated at a hospital and Pandey brought her home when she was cured.

Ants had started eating up her naval, pushing the baby to a state of comma but she survived after treatment for about three weeks at the local hospital, he said.

“Another baby girl was found abandoned in a toilet of a running train at Jasidih station,” Pandey said. He brought the baby home after a woman who initially wanted to adopt her turned away as the baby was found to be visually impaired.

He continued to take care of such babies who were found abandoned in or around Deoghar and later, as advised by the then deputy commissioner of the temple town, founded Narayan Seva Ashram and got it registered as a trust.

“We now have 35 girls of varying ages and also a boy,” Pandey informed, adding they all address him either as papa or baba. He also married off four other girls who were raised by his family earlier.

“The expenses are met mostly from donations given by generous people,” Pandey said.

He made a separate dwelling unit “with monetary help from friends and relatives” when so many girls could not be accommodated at his house anymore.

Many of the girls are good at studies and the private schools they attend have waived their tuition fees while the only boy is now studying in Class VIII at a government school, he said.

“Two of the girls, Khushi and Tapasi, have cleared their school final examination with first-division marks and want to be doctors and I promised to help fulfil their dreams by selling off my agricultural land,” Pandey said.

“After the Kaun Banega Crorepati team came to know about us, they came here, did some shooting and later invited us to participate in a special episode that will be telecast on Monday evening,” he said.