This book was and International Bestseller, which can easily be believed. It's an eyeopener to how different cultures operate. Rarely is a baby killed in North America, and even though I'm naive I can't believe that a baby would be killed due to it's sex. But in some cultures to have a girl child is a burden. Where people are beyond poor they need sons to help them operate what little land they have and when a daughter grows older it is necessary that she be married off so she won't be a financial burden and because with marriage comes a dowry which is badly needed.
After losing her first daughter, Kavita can't bear the thought of her newborn second daughter being taken from her by death. And so she walks all night to place her in an orphage. When she returns she tells her husband that the baby died in the night.
Kavita goes on to give birth to a son but she is never able to shut out thoughts of her daughter. Life in the countryside gets worse and the husband convinces Kavita that a move to the city would be good for them. Many people have thought that to move to Mumbai is the answer to all of their needs. Nothing could be further from the truth. Their life there, their son's life there, is worse than if they had stayed poor farmers in their original home.
The baby, Asha, is adopted by a family in America. The father is Indian, the mother American. She's a good student, studying jounalism, and eventually gets a Fellowship to do a study on the poor children on the outskirts of Mumbai. This gives her the first chance to meet her adoptive father's family and to learn more of her own culture.
She has always wanted to know about her family of origin and is able to find the orphanage and the name of her biological family and actually finds where they live. She visits but they are not home. She leaves a note telling them that she was there. She never does return but Kavita is given the knowledge that what she did was right for her daughter.
This book is very heartwarming. I really recommend it.
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