“For years, Saroo would stay up late at night poring over maps and imagery in Google Earth, trying to find a place that would match his 20-year-old memories of childhood. He remembered a water tank, a bridge, a fountain near a movie theater. He knew that the station where he'd been separated from his brother started with a 'B.' He thought his village was called "Ginestlay," but couldn't find it on any map. In a nation as vast and as densely populated as India, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
And then, after years of wandering Google Earth, he spotted a promising-sounding train station called Burhanpur, and traced the railway tracks north to the city of Khandwa. There it was: not Ginestlay, but a neighborhood called Ganesh Talai. Close enough! He flew to India, but when he arrived at his childhood home, it was dark and locked. Luckily, a neighbor knew where his family had moved to, and he was quickly reunited with his mother and siblings. The power of cartography!”
The story is now on the big screen. Very well done. Trailer below
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