![]() ![]() Saroo quickly begins to feel tired, however, and when they reach the station, Guddu instructs Saroo to stay where he is and nap. One evening when Saroo is five, Saroo insists that Guddu take him back to “Berampur” with him. Saroo spends his time with Shekila and Baba, the local holy man. As Guddu and Kallu get older, they begin spending more time at “Berampur,” a train station down the line where they have better luck finding food and money. Guddu and Kallu work hawking small items at train stations and sweeping train cars, while Saroo goes door-to-door begging for food from neighbors. ![]() Kamla works on building sites and is often gone for days at a time. Saroo’s family lives in a poor town he knows as “ Ginestlay” in a Muslim neighborhood, even though Kamla is Hindu. Luckily, the riot dissolves when Saroo’s father throws a rock at Kamla. The children go alone to their father’s house, and the next day, a riot breaks out in the street when Kamla and Saroo’s father begin fighting. ![]() His mother, Kamla, takes Saroo, baby Shekila, and their brothers Guddu and Kallu on a day-long journey to visit. His parents separate when he’s very young, and his only clear memory of his birth father is going to visit his birth father’s new baby when he’s four years old. Saroo returns his story to his childhood in India. Together, they draw a map of Saroo’s hometown and the train journey to Calcutta. Mum is flabbergasted when he explains how he became lost and ended up in Calcutta. After a while, Saroo begins to talk about his life in India. Though Saroo has a relatively easy time adjusting to his new life, he does anxiously run through his memories of his Indian family every night. His Mum pins a map of India to his wall to make Saroo feel at home. Saroo is adopted when he’s six and grows up in Hobart, Tasmania. He tells Saroo to follow him he’ll take Saroo to his mother. ![]() One man takes Saroo’s page of childhood photos, disappears for a few minutes, and then returns. Two other men arrive, and Saroo recites the names of his family members again. The woman says they don’t live there anymore. A young woman appears out of the next house to help, and Saroo begins to list the people who lived in the house. He’s in shock: the tiny house is clearly abandoned. Tragically, a child alone at the Calcutta train station was all too common and didn’t warrant anyone’s attention or need for concern.As an adult, Saroo stands in front of his childhood home in India. Saroo ended up disembarking at Calcutta station where despite his pleas for help he was ignored. When he woke up he quickly realised the landscape he could see out of the windows was different and the train was moving through more heavily populated towns. Saroo boarded the train which soon left the station while Saroo was sleeping. He spotted a train with a carriage door open. As the night grew later, Saroo felt more and more alone. That night was exhausting for Saroo, Guduu instructed him to stay on the platform while he did a few things, promising to return when he had finished his work. Guduu expressed his concern that this was not a good idea as he felt Saroo was too small (he was only five years old), but Guduu soon relented. One evening Saroo convinced his older brother Guduu to allow him to join him while he tried to earn some money or food working at the railway station. ![]()
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