MONIKA BHOSALE

Monika Bhonsale is a real estate lawyer with over 25 years of work experience and heads the real estate practice at the country’s largest and premier Tier 1 law firm. Monika is widely recognized as a leading expert in the Indian real estate sector and her practice covers a broad spectrum of complex transactions including land acquisitions, redevelopment projects, and title due diligence. Monika has also advised and represented her clients in the largest real estate acquisition in the country. Her professional standing is further underscored by her consistent rankings in premier global legal directories such as Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500, which highlight her expertise in handling high stakes real estate mandates for both domestic and international clients.

Monika’s professional discipline is only one half of her story. She believes that true value is created not just in the boardroom, but in the lives of those often forgotten by society. This belief led to the founding of the Angels Link Foundation (ALF) in 2008 alongside her childhood friend, Kanan Shah.

A Journey of the Heart: The Angels Link Foundation

For Monika, the foundation was born from a restless desire to bridge the gap between privilege and poverty. She reflects on the early days of her journey:

“Growing up and in my day-to-day life, I would notice the needy and the underprivileged all around me, be it the beggars, the homeless or the abandoned. Their plight always bothered me and I often pondered about the ways I could be of help to them.” 

To compensate for her initial inability to do anything substantial, she would go out of her way to help those she interacted with regularly, until a casual chat in 2008 with her  childhood friend Kanan transformed this inner desire into a formal organization. This journey was built on the core philosophy that the most valuable gift one can offer is “time” rather than just financial contributions, a principle taught to her and Kanan by Mrs. Saroj Apte: “What they really need is your time, more than your money”.

Impact Through Empathy: Meals, Baths, and “Fairytales”

Monika’s work through ALF is deeply hands on. She often speaks of the profound impact of providing the most basic human necessities, such as a hot meal and a hot bath for the homeless. She recalls:

“It was heartening to see what a hot meal and a bath can do to a poor and homeless person. They were eating like this was the only meal they have had in a long, long time and they were so happy to be able to access clean water for their bath.” 

Whether it is organizing the first ALF picnic at Bal Bhavan where children saw the sea for the first time, or leading “Fairytale” micro projects that provide life changing financial assistance for medical surgeries and education, Monika’s mission is to create lasting, sustainable change. This includes building permanent facilities like the Children’s Activity Centre for cancer patients at Gadge Maharaj Dharamshala and audiometry rooms for hearing impaired children.

The Integration of Professionalism and Passion

Monika integrates her meticulous professional nature, personally overseeing the foundation’s legal and administrative requirements with full transparency and integrity. A fitness enthusiast and a marathoner, Monika brings the same endurance that she brings to her legal practice also to her philanthropic endeavours.

Monika’s journey has been a process of personal transformation that has made her a more compassionate human being. She describes this undertaking as “exhausting yet exhilarating,” and one that has made her “stronger and more assured in our resolve to ride further and fly higher”.

A Legacy of Joy

Monika Bhonsale alongwith Kanan Shah as the founder trustees and the other members continue on the path of philathrophy with the unwavering belief that “we must be the change we wish to see”. 

By combining legal excellence with a heart for service, Monika lives by the mantra of “paying it forward” and “spreading joy,” ensuring that every green light at a traffic signal is a reminder not to drive away from the world’s needs, but to step out and make a difference. Her life stands as a testament to the fact that when we come together with great love and shared purpose, we nurture hope that transforms communities.