Sumith Prasad
Garth Davis’ biographical drama film ‘Lion’ chronicles the efforts of Saroo Brierley to find and reunite with his biological mother, Kamla Munshi, after more than two and a half decades. After accidentally getting separated from his loved ones, the young Indian boy becomes a part of the family of an Australian couple named John and Sue Brierley. After he grows up, his introduction to Google Earth motivates him to track down his family in India. As the movie depicts, Kamla Munshi dealt with the harrowing absence of her son for years. She even remained in the same village, hoping that he would return to her one day!
Kamla Munshi Cherished Her Reunion With Saroo Brierley Despite the Language Barrier
After Saroo Brierley vanished from her life in 1986, Kamla Munshi suffered severely as a mother. In addition to the absence of her youngest son, she had to deal with the tragic death of her other child, Guddu, who passed away after he was hit by a train the same night his brother went missing. Since she believed that her son would come back, she decided against leaving her locality, Ganesh Talai, in Khandwa, India. In between this long and emotionally strenuous wait, she converted to Islam and chose the name Fatima. However, Saroo chose to call her Kamla, the name he had been familiar with since childhood.
As ‘Lion’ depicts, Saroo and Kamla finally reunited in February 2012. Their first meeting in over two and a half decades lasted around 11 days. Since the young man was not well-versed in Hindi, he needed a translator to communicate with his mother. Still, they cherished their reunion, and she even cooked his favorite dishes for him to relish. After this invaluable experience, Saroo returned to Hobart, the hometown of the Brierleys, in Australia. Kamla accompanied him to the airport, where he promised to return.
During this period, he started sending her money so she could stop working as a house cleaner. However, Kamla was adamant about not accepting the money he sent to her bank account. She told him that she would only do it if he gave her the money directly. Maintaining communication was troublesome for the mother and son after their reunion. Since they didn’t know each other’s language, phone calls didn’t really help. Using a computer in a nearby house, Kamla could see her son through videoconferencing. However, it didn’t have a camera so that Saroo could see his mother. Irrespective of these challenges, the mother and son remained in touch.
Kamla Munshi Lives in a House Saroo Brierley Bought for Her Today
Saroo Brierley returned to Kamla Munshi in 2013, this time with his adoptive mother, Sue Brierley. The two women embraced each other and shared a highly emotional moment. Since learning about them through her son, Kamla has been highly considerate towards the Brierleys. “You continue staying there, son. If you think of a family, think only about that side of the family,” she told her child after their meeting in 2012, as per Deseret News. Even though Saroo has reunited with Kamla, he sees himself as an Australian who does not want to move back to India.
Because of this decision, Kamla did consider leaving India to be with Saroo in Australia. However, the lack of English language knowledge and the drastic differences in the culture of the two countries made her decide to remain in Ganesh Talai. Therefore, to ensure her well-being and safety, Saroo bought her a house. He discussed the matter with his siblings, Kallu and Shekila, who live not far away from their mother. They even asked her whether she wanted to leave Ganesh Talai to live closer to either of them, but Kamla wanted to stay near the people she had known for decades.
From the latest updates Saroo has shared regarding Kamla, we believe that she continues to live in Ganesh Talai. Whenever he returns to India from Australia, she is also surrounded by Kallu, Shekila, and their children. The family gatherings have been occasions of immense joy and comfort for her, who had to deal with inexplicable fear, sadness, and the weight of hope for years. Likely because of her insistence, her son had stopped sending her money, as per a 2017 interview given to an Indian outlet. At the time, she also added that she continues to work as a house cleaner, a job which helped her and her children survive for decades.
Saroo Brierley Has Been Visiting Kamla Munshi Regularly Since Their Reunion
Kamla Munshi and Saroo Brierley have been in touch since their incredible reunion in 2012. “I think I’ve seen her about 18 times within five years. It’s a mental cleanse [visiting India]. I come back to Australia feeling pretty good,” he told The Georgia Straight in 2018. After the publication of her son’s memoir ‘A Long Way Home’ in 2013, she was at the center of international media attention. Luke Davies, who wrote ‘Lion’ based on the literary work, even met Kamla to craft his screenplay. Even though recollecting her experiences was overwhelming for her, she talked to the screenwriter with tears in her eyes.
“I would hang out with Kamla and she was just so incredible and so powerful and primal. She was a light. She was so inspiring, and so was Sue,” Davies told the Los Angeles Times about his time with Kamla in 2017. When ‘Lion’ was in production in India in 2015, the cast and crew of the film met her. She welcomed Dev Patel and her on-screen counterpart, Priyanka Bose, with an adorable smile. In early 2017, Kamla watched the movie with her son, and she had tears in her eyes from the start to the end. Saroo told the press that she was “touched” and “humbled” by the existence of the film, which is incredibly personal to her.
In 2017, Saroo expressed his wish to take Kamla to Australia for a visit, even though she didn’t want to move to the country permanently. Since then, he has been significantly private about his time with her. As they catch up and compensate for the lost time, they understandably deserve to enjoy spending time with each other without any sort of external attention on them. We hope that the mother and son will be able to meet and communicate with each other frequently and wholeheartedly, irrespective of geographical and language barriers.
Read More: John and Sue Brierley: Where Are Saroo Brierley’s Adoptive Parents Now?
You must be logged in to post a comment.