Book by Upadhaya, Kisan The Last Orange A Lost and Found Memoir By Kisan Upadhaya iUniverse, Inc. Copyright © 2012 Kisan Upadhaya All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4759-4804-2 Contents Introduction..................................................................................................................xiiiChapter 1 Early Life: My life as street child after being abandoned by my own family..........................................1Chapter 2 How did the first Christian Children's home start in Nepal, the only Hindu nation in the world?.....................38Chapter 3 My time in Mendies Haven............................................................................................45Chapter 4 The Lessons of Growing Up...........................................................................................50Chapter 5 The U.S. A Completely Different World...............................................................................64Chapter 6 Work, Marriage, a Family of My Own..................................................................................74Chapter 7 Searching For My Lost Family........................................................................................80Chapter 8 My older sister Sani's Story........................................................................................96Chapter 9 The Story Of Umoti Devi (My Mom, The Last 40 Years Without Her Kids)................................................120Chapter 10 My Dad's Story.....................................................................................................133 Chapter One Early Life: My life as street child after being abandoned by my own family One hot summer morning in 1965 at 6 a.m. in Assam, India, I was born in a small village called Dergaun, Assam. Assam is located south of the eastern Himalayas and forges the Brahmaputra and Barak river valleys along with the Karbi Anglong and North Cachar hills. Assam is surrounded by six of the other seven sister states: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mainpur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya. These states are connected to the rest of India via a narrow strip in west Bangal called the Silguri Corridor, or in other words, the "Chicken Neck." Assam also shares international borders with Bhutan and Bangaladesh, adding diverse culture and heritage from Southeast Asia. Assam became a part of India after the British occupied the region following the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824-1826. This state is known for its tea estates, large and old petroleum resources, Assam silk and its rich biodiversity. Many may not know that Assam has successfully conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction, along with the tiger and numerous species of birds, and it provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. The rich wildlife has proved to be a popular destination for tourists wanting to get a glimpse of these rare animals. Once, Assam was known for its Sal tree forests and forest products which have been depleted now. In fact for thousands of years auromere ayurvedic incense has been made by hand rolling each stick of fragrant dough from the fruit of the Manjal tree. Assam is very green. It receives a lot of rainfall and is full of coconut, palm and banana trees everywhere you look, reminding me of the Garden of Eden. The lush green mountains reflect silver at sunrise and are golden during the sunset. Right beneath the magnificent mountains lay the foothills with all kinds of wild flowers. The landscape of the mountains, foothills and the valley looks as if a smart architect sat down with plans to render this place a paradise. Yet it was considered a third world country at the time of my birth during the 60s. The harsh and very hot weather and the lack of education contribute to a very primitive lifestyle for so many. Poverty, disease, death, filth, the crippled and sick who lie and beg on the side of the streets display the sorrow of the nation. Less privileged kids beg for food and money, and the looks on their faces reveal that they are seeking Divine deliverance. Little children run among the city dumpsites in search for something to eat. A dog licks the wounds of a restless soul who lies helpless in the streets. Flies lay their eggs in the wounds. Many children end up in the train station, where some look for jobs and others become vagabonds, crisscrossing the country on its vast and intricate railway network. They live miserably, enduring constant hunger and malnutrition. Their lifestyle exposes them to drug trafficking, organ trade, prostitution and slavery. The police don't do anything to protect them and many end up getting further abused by the law enforcement. Girls are raped and murdered and these crimes are never reported. Kids go missing never to be found again. If they are lucky enough to endure and survive the phenomenon they find work as rag-pickers, or work in a tea stall as I did later