Lion (movie) 2013

A Long Way Home

by Saroo Brierley,Larry Buttrose (Ghostwriter),
When Saroo Brierley used Google Earth to find his long-lost home town
half a world away, he made global headlines.
Saroo had become lost on a train in India at the age of five. Not knowing
the name of his family or where he was from, he survived for weeks on
the streets of Kolkata, before being taken into an orphanage and
adopted by a couple in Australia.
Despite being happy in his new family, Saroo always wondered about
his origins. He spent hours staring at the map of India on his bedroom
wall. When he was a young man the advent of Google Earth led him to
pore over satellite images of the country for landmarks he recognised.
And one day, after years of searching, he miraculously found what he
was looking for.
Then he set off on a journey to find his mother.

1- Who are the main characters?

Saroo Brierly
is the protagonist and the author in this book. The memoir is told from his childhood in
India to his new family and life in Australia.
Mantosh Brierly
is Saroo's brother in Australia who was also adopted from India by Sue and John Brierly.
Sue Brierly
Sue Brierly is Saroo's adoptive mother.
John Brierly
John Brierly is Sue's husband and the adoptive father of Saroo and Mantosh.
Mrs. Sood
Mrs. Sood organized Saroo's adoption. When Saroo was first brought to the orphanage, she
put out information about his whereabouts in the local papers in hopes of finding his
family. When no one responded, she found a couple in Australia who was looking to adopt
and organized for Saroo to join them
Kamla
is Saroo's birth mother. She herself was a Hindu but married Saroo's father who was a
Muslim, resulting in their family not being accepted by either group in their town.
Guddu
is Saroo's biological brother who was often away looking for a job or a way to obtain some
food for their family. When Guddu takes Saroo with him to Berampur one night, he leaves
Saroo asleep on the bench and never returns.
Kallu
is Saroo's other older brother. He is reunited with his brother Saroo years later.
Shekila
is the name of Saroo's little sister.
2- What are the main themes?
Parental love, and family values
Poverty, survival, resilience
3- Summary
"A Long Way Home" by Saroo Brierly is a memoir which follows the life Saroo from his
childhood in India to his journey into adulthood. The story begins in a small town in India
which Saroo remembers as Ginestlay where he lives in a tiny house in a poor part of the
town with his single mother Kamla, two older brothers Guddu and Kallu and his baby
sister Shekila. His mother was a Hindu and his father a Muslim which resulted in his family
not being accepted in either part of their town. His father left when he was very young and
remarried with a different woman. During the day Saroo's mother would go to work at
building sites where she would move heavy rocks and stones all day to support their
family. His brothers would also go out looking for work although they were only 14 and
12. They would provide for the family through whatever means necessary which often
meant begging or even stealing. Saroo would stay at home and take care of his baby sister.
Even with his mom and brothers working their family was very poor and often went
hungry.
One night when Saroo was only five years old he begs his older brother Guddu to join him
on a trip to a nearby town. Guddu is hesitant but finally agrees to let him come along. They
sneak on a train together to a town called "Burampur". When they got there, Saroo was
very sleepy so Guddu told him to nap on a bench at the train station while he went around
the town on a few errands. When Saroo woke up Guddu was no longer there. Saroo sees
the train with open doors and assumes that his brother must have gotten on it. When he
goes to check inside the train car he finds it empty and decided to wait for his brother on
the train. He falls asleep on the seat and when he wakes up realizes that he is still alone in
the car and that the train is moving. He begins to cry and scream for help but no one can
hear him and he is all alone. Eventually exhausting himself, he falls asleep again and upon
waking up finds himself at another train station which is in Calcutta.

As a five year old, he tries to ask passerbyers for help but is either not understood or
ignored all together. He begins sleeping under benches at the train station with a group of
homeless children and sneaking onto different trains every day trying to find his way back
home. One night a group of men approach the children and start to chase after them.
Luckily Saroo gets away. HE doesn't risk returning to the train station and instead
wanders the streets of Calcutta following a river. Saroo has a very difficult time, he has
nowhere to sleep, he almost drowns in the river twice but is saved by a homeless man, he
is also tricked by a man who offers him a place to stay and help, but Saroo suspects
something and runs away. Finally, Saroo meets a teenage boy who goes with him to the
police station convincing him that they are going to help.

Through the police Saroo is placed in a dangerous orphanage which is often broken into.
Luckily Saroo spends his time there unharmed and is later transferred to a better
orphanage run by Mrs.Sood who soon arranges his adoption with a couple in Australia.
She explains to Saroo that no one has responded to the announcement of Saroo's situation
that had been put in the local newspapers so they had found a new family for him. Saroo
looks through the photos that his new parents sent him and agrees to the adoption.
Although he misses his mom and his siblings, he understands that they are lost and is
excited to meet his new family.

His adoptive parents, Sue and John Brierly chose to adopt a child even though they could
have their own children because of a vision Sue had when she was younger of her holding
a brown child's hand. Saroo lives a happy and peaceful life in Australia. Their family ends
up adopting another Indian boy called Mantosh who has a mental disorder which puts
some strain on their family. Nevertheless, they live a relatively happy life all together as a
family.
As Saroo grows older and goes off to university his curiosity about his birth mother and
sibling begins to grow. He finds himself distracted and constantly thinking about his
childhood, trying to remember all of their details of his life in India. With the
encouragement of his Indian friends he met in university and his girlfriend Lisa, he decides
to begin his search for his hometown. He uses google maps and for several months spends
hours every day carefully combing and possible routes he could have taken to Calcutta,
trying to remember details of names and landmarks. After months of no success, one day
by coincidence Saroo clicks on a part of the map where he recognizes a bridge and familiar
overpass. He traces the path back to his hometown and confirms that it is his hometown
through a Facebook group. The city ended up being almost on the other side of the
country, a lot farther than Saroo originally thought it was. He finds out his town is actually
named "Ginesh Talai" instead of "Ginestlay" as he remembered it.With his girlfriend's
support he tells his parents who although skeptical, support Saroo. Not long after his
discovery Saroo travels to India to his hometown. When he gets to his old house he finds it
abandoned but is approached by a man who recognizes the picture of Saroo as a boy and
takes him to his mother. Their reunion after twenty five years is beautiful and Saroo's
mother calls the whole family together to celebrate. Saroo communicates with his family
through a translator since he has forgotten his native language. He learns from his mother
that Guddu never came back that night and was found dead on the train tracks, which is
devastating news for him to hear. On his way back home Saroo retraces his trip all the way
to Calcutta to put some old memories to rest. Saroo reflects on his luck surviving on the
streets of Calcutta, and in finding a family to take care of him. He feels blessed to have two
families who love him. Today, he lives in Australia, still visiting his family in India. His
adoptive parents are happy that Saroo has found his birth mother, Kallu and Shekila. Upon
meeting, Saroo's two mothers embraced and Kamla thanked Sue for taking care of her son.

This beautifully written memoir describes the incredible story of Saroo who finds his was
back home through extraordinary circumstances, after being lost for 25 years.

Lion (movie)
Discuss your point of view about the following statements/expressions in bold.
(remember to use full sentences)

1- His determination and positive outlook on life are an inspiration that he shares with
us. (Saroo)

2- Through his good instincts and sense of survival, five-year old Saroo manages to
stay alive alone on the streets of Calcutta. (Saroo)

3- He is adopted by an Australian couple that give him a loving home and support him
in his mission to find out where his hometown and family is.(Saroo)

4- He comes from a troubled background and often exhibits symptoms of emotional

and mental abuse. (Mantosh)

5- Mantosh and Saroo do not get along very well at first because of their different
personalities and situations, but become closer over time.

6- Sue thinks that there are a lot of children who need parents and when she was
younger she had a vision of herself holding a brown-skinned child's hand.

7- Mrs Sood also founded the ISSA foundation in Calcutta which facilitates the
adoption of young children

8- Kamla worked on building sites carrying rocks and stones because she was a strong
woman, but it wasn't enough to feed her family.