In 1978 in Erode, India, Chellamuthu, a boy of seven, was kidnapped from the streets, driven three hours away and sold to a Christian orphanage. Weeks later, he was shipped to an unsuspecting couple in the United States who couldn't understand a word their new son was speaking. It took months before the boy learned enough English to tell his parents that he wasn't an orphan, that he already had a family-but by then, it was too late. Horrified, the parents their best to track down his Indian family, but all avenues led to dead ends. So they did what parent's do best-they loved him.
They changed his name to Taj. They enrolled him in school, sports and scouting-and time marched on. He adapted. He tried his best to fit in, and was well liked by everyone he met. In high school, he even served as student body president. And yet questions always pestered. "Who am I? How exactly did I end up here? Will I ever make it back to India? Will I find my family?"
Several years later, Taj would get his answers. In his all-white community, through some rather miraculous circumstances, he met and married Priya, a girl from southern India, a girl who held a stunning connection to his past. When they traveled together to India to attend her brother's wedding, Taj carried his only clue: the orphanage address from his mother's letters. Sadly, he found the orphanage closed, its owner long since dead. In a country of a billion people, with no other avenues, he could have quit, could have presumed the task too hard-but that wasn't the way he'd been raised by his mother in America.
In truth, there isn't space to detail Taj's search and the answers he uncovered, only to hint that it's both a physical and an emotional story that you'll have a hard time getting out of your head. While it's true that Taj's story is unique (very few of us were kidnapped as children), it can also be equally argued that Taj's story is common. Don't we all feel lost at times? Aren't we all trying to understand our place in the world?
If you're also looking for answers (or just a great read that will bring both tears and cheers), the story of an "orphan" boy kidnapped from India may be just what you need.
To learn more about Taj and his astounding journey, pick up a copy of The Orphan Keeper, available at bookstores everywhere or visit here.
