The Story of Lala

Lala is eleven when he resolves to go to the great city—Bombay—to aid his parents, who are desperately poor, and to buy his father the plot of land which he has been tilling for years as a tenant. Lala's dream is simple: he wants to create a little world of honest and rewarding work so that his family can live without fear. But this simple dream is not easy to realize, and at each stage lie new and bigger challenges for the little boy. From his first sight of a market in Benaras to his first train ride, from his encounters with the Great City to his life as a fisherman where he takes on the might of the ocean, Lala's days are marked by hardship and misadventure, but also by love, friendship and humour. And he never lets go of his dream … This is the true story of a boy whom Scapagnini met on his annual trip to India. Simply told but full of rich wisdom, this is an eternal story which carries at its core an irresistible joy of existence.