One afternoon, Saroo almost falls asleep on the train tracks. A homeless man saves him from drowning, and then does the same the next day.Īs Saroo searches the city for food, he comes across a gang of boys who chase him, and he does his best to sleep near holy men, as he feels safer near them. Later, he jumps in the same spot, unaware that the water level rose. He walks near the river and is terrified to see decomposing and mutilated bodies, but finds a group of children playing in the water and joins them. Saroo races away and out into the bustling city of Calcutta. After a week or so, Saroo sees a group of men attempting to wrestle a screaming group of children out of the station. Saroo reasons that he should be able to take a train home again, so he begins hopping on trains and riding them out. The train finally reaches the end of the line at a massive and busy station. The doors close, trapping Saroo, and he spends about fifteen hours crying, sleeping, and panicking as the train races away from his home and family. Believing that Guddu is on the train, Saroo boards it. Saroo does as he’s told but wakes with a start some time later. 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.

As an adult, Saroo stands in front of his childhood home in India.

A long way home chapter summary