Young Krishna struggles to survive among the drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes in the back alleys and gutters of India. Young Krishna's mother abandons him at the Apollo Circus and informs him that he can only return home when he can afford 500 rupees to pay for his brother's bicycle that he destroyed. The circus then leaves Krishna behind and he takes a train to Bombay, where he works delivering tee for Chacha's street bar and being called "Chaipau" by the local street children. He befriends heroin addict and drug dealer Chillum, and young Manju Golub, the daughter of Baba Golub and prostitute Rekha Golub. Krishna dreams of saving 500 rupees to return home, but Bombay street life isn't easy. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The story of Krishna, Manju, Chillum, and the other street children of Bombay. Sometimes they can get temporary jobs selling tea, but mostly they must beg for money and keep out of the way of the police, but they can almost never avoid trouble. —Mattias Thuresson Fed up of being endlessly bullied by his older brother, Krishna sets fire to his motorbike, and his furious mother takes him to the nearby Apollo Circus and informs him that he can only come home after he earns Rs.500/- to pay for the damaged bike. Krishna agrees to this and finds employment with the circus. One day the boss sends him on an errand, and he returns to discover that the circus has packed up and departed. Alone, not knowing where to go or how to earn the 500 rupees he needs, he travels to the nearest big city: Bombay. Immediately robbed of what little he has, he follows the thieves and befriends them. He ends up in Bombay's notorious red-light area of Falkland Road near Grant Road Railway Station. One of the thieves, Chillum, a drug pusher and addict, helps him get a job on the "Grant Road Tea Stall" and changes his name to "Chaipau." He soon discovers that saving money among his new associates in his new surroundings is next to impossible. He also has a crush on young prostitute Sola Saal; he sets fire to her room and tries unsuccessfully to elope with her--which earns him a beating and relieves him of his job. He then works odd jobs to feed himself and look after Chillum, who cannot live without his drugs. He and his pals also break into an elderly Parsi man's place in broad daylight to rob him. One night several of his friends return home to get apprehended by the police and taken to a juvenile home, but Krishna escapes and returns to his world of drug pushers, pimps, and prostitutes. Will he ever be able to return to his mother? —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
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