historical fiction, fiction
The Orphan Keeper is based on a true story. Chellamuthu is a
mischievous 8 year old in a small Indian town when he is kidnapped off the
street and taken to an orphanage where the owners have been stealing children in order to put them up for adoption. The orphanage's rationale is that they
are enabling poor children to live better lives than they would with their
impoverished birth families while enriching their own pockets. But as newly named Taj grows up, he seeks answers
about the family and the country of his birth.
The story is very gripping. Camron Wright does a great job drawing the picture of Chellamuthu’s home
life and the realities of growing up poor in India. There is such heartbreak
when Chellamuthu was in the orphanage, travelling by plane to his new American family, and facing challenges like learning a new language and being the only
dark-skinned person in school. The author writes with compassion and
sensitivity to all involved.
Stealing children for adoption is not unique to India. It’s a tragedy whenever it occurs. In Taj’s case, he did benefit in many ways by being
raised in America but he and his birth family had to survive a lot of heartbreak and upheaval. His
is a haunting story and I’m glad he shared it publicly.
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