S R Nair

The Orphan S R Nair

SID's idyllic life in an affluent California suburb is shattered by a phone call that informs him of the death of his adoptive parents in a drunken driving accident in Mumbai. Sid travels to Mumbai to dispose of the mortal remains of his parents. Sudhir Kumar, the manager of Anand Ashram-the orphanage where his parents were volunteering-helps Sid in his mission. Sid meets Ice Iyer an ambitious crime reporter who becomes his close confidant and friend. A grief-stricken Sid is confronted by crooked cops and corrupt politicians who try to intimidate him to prevent him from suing the errant driver Sanjay Khan, the uncrowned king of Bollywood, who is still agonizing over a broken relationship with the gorgeous Tulip Mohan. Sanjay's coterie alternatively offers Sid money, threatens him, gets him arrested and eventually tries to have him killed. Sanjay has a powerful ally in Nandu Palekar, the Machiavellian home minister. Faced with a powerful adversary in an alien land, Sid is surprised to find support in his struggle for justice from Shardul Seth and Nana Patil. Shardul Seth, the prominent and well-connected attorney, is a business associate of Sid's father's closest friend. Nana Patil, the wily septuagenarian politician on the verge of a political comeback, has his own reasons for helping Sid. Sid befriends the children at the Anand Ashram orphanage where he meets beautiful Khairunnisa, the flaxen haired child-woman who escapes from a 'marriage' to a wealthy Arab 54 years older than her; garrulous Lakshmi, who is rescued from a child trafficker, and many others with heart-rending stories. Sid's voyage of self-discovery leads him to his birth parents, to a deeper appreciation of his adoptive parents and imbues his life with purpose and meaning.