Saroo was born in Madhya Pradesh in India. His family were very poor, so when Saroo was just five, he and his brother Guddu found work on trains as cleaners. One day the boys went to work at a station 70 km from home. The job was very tiring for Saroo and he fell asleep at the station. He was so exhausted that he slept for hours. When he woke up, Guddu was not there. Saroo was shocked and worried. He looked for his brother, but couldn't find him. It was a very frightening situation for a young child.
After two weeks, the police found Saroo, but he could not tell them where his home was - he was too confused and he didn't know its name. In the end, the police decided he was officially lost and placed him with an adoption agency. An Australian family called Brierley took him to their home in Tasmania and he grew up with them.
As an adult, Saroo Brierley stayed in Australia, but he looked for his home town in India using the photos on Google Earth on his computer. It took months, but Saroo never got bored with looking. In the end, he found the town. He was delighted and travelled there at once. When he saw his mother again for the first time in 25 years, it was a very moving experience for both of them. Newspapers and TV stations became interested in Saroo's astonishing story and Saroo himself wrote a book about it in 2012.