Indian boy meets mother after 25 years using Google Earth: Report

Indian boy meets mother after 25 years using Google Earth: Report

Google Earth was devised to offer its users an 3D view of the planet and its cities. Who knew that one day a boy would be able to find his real mother after 25 years using this tool. BBC has a fascinating tale of Saroo Brierley, who lost contact with his family on a train in 1986 only to be reunited with his mother after 25 years using Google Earth.

Saroo was just 5 years old when he lost contact with his elder brother on board a train in 1986. He then somehow ended up in Calcutta and started begging, only to find his way in an orphanage. Eventually Brierley was adopted by a family from Tasmania, Australia. Brierley was then moved to Tasmania, but his quest for finding his family was not over. He did not know where he came from, but he had a relative idea he had come from.

In the interview he said, “I multiplied the time I was on the train, about 14 hours, with the speed of Indian trains and I came up with a rough distance, about 1,200km.”

He drew a circle around Calcutta with its radius and the approximate distance he had traveled and zeroed in on Khandwa by remembering the waterfall, where he’d play as a kid. After finding out his home he traveled to Khandwa where he was reunited with his mother after 25 years.

I don’t think even Larry Page and Sergey Brin could have imagined this to be possible, but nonetheless I am sure if they come to know about Brierley’s tale, they will definitely be proud.