A grieving mum who wanted to be artificially inseminated with her dead son's sperm now has twins after being told by doctors she needed a surrogate to complete her dream of "reincarnating" her child.
Rajashree Patil, 49, was informed by doctors that she was unfit for IVF treatment using a sample taken from her son Prathamesh, who died of a deadly tumour.
She had wanted to conceive the children herself by being the surrogate mother but doctors said she was medically unfit as she had already begun her menopause, the Daily Mail reports.
Instead, his semen was used to fertilise an egg which was given by an anonymous donor, who was not related to the family, before being implanted into a close relative.
The surrogate, 35, has now given birth to twins and Rajashree says she will raise the little boy and girl, who are technically her grandchildren, as though they are her own.
She called the boy Prathamesh while she named the little girl after her daughter Prisha, who will help her raise the babies in the city of Pune, Maharashtra State, Western India.
Rajashree, who works as a teacher, said: "I was carrying the soul of my son in me and was looking for a body to breathe it into.
"Doctors had preserved my son's semen before they commenced cancer treatment to preempt any negative effects of the medicine used on him.
"Due to this I have been able to get my son back."
Rajashree was very close to Prathamesh who was studying engineering in Germany when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Doctors in Germany collected his sperm and put it in storage while Prathamesh went through gruelling cancer treatment, and because he was unmarried he nominated his mother and sister to use his semen sample after his death.
Prathamesh managed to complete his master's degree before returning to India for an operation in May 2013.
For a while he appeared to be doing well but in February 2016 the cancer returned and by September that year Prathamesh had passed away.
In May last year, Rajashree began considering using the sperm to get "her son back".
Rajashree said: "I am menopausal, so doctors ruled me out for the pregnancy.
A married relative offered to be the surrogate mother and she handed over the twins to me the minute they were born.
"Getting the semen into our custody was not easy and we faced a lot of hurdles. Money and time were serious issues but now I will take the responsibility of these infants.
"I am their mother now."
The twins were born on Monday and since then Rajashree is quick to correct any visitors who have referred to her as their grandmother.
A photograph shows the unusual family who have taken extreme steps to keep Prathamesh's memory alive.
Rajashree is said to have faced a lot of criticism from her in-laws over her decision but she has been supported by her daughter Prisha throughout the ordeal.
Dr Supriya Puranik, head of IVF department at Sahyadri Hospital, said: 'I am happy that through the development of science and new technology we are being able to help people relive their moments of happiness.
"At hospitals, we often see a lot of emotions and happiness whenever a woman delivers a baby and we have come to share in their moments of joy.
"But in this case it was a grief-stricken mother whose son was away for studies when he came down with the fatal disease and succumbed to it.
"We appreciate the kind of spirit she has shown throughout the process and congratulate her on having her son back in the form of these healthy twin babies."