Born Behind Bars

Their last night in the cell together, Amma holds Kabir in her lap and sings a lullaby: “Moon, moon, come running to me…climb over the mountain and bring a jasmine flower” (55). Kabir doesn’t understand what the words mean and feels helpless. In the morning, Amma says she’ll be happy every day when she thinks about Kabir free and out in the world. Mouse Girl advises him to stay away from police. Grandma Knife promises to look after Amma and instructs Kabir to look after himself. Amma tells him not to look back, but he does, and she has collapsed to the ground.

Policemen guide Kabir out of the prison and into a van, which takes him across town to a police station, where they meet Kabir’s uncle. Uncle isn’t friendly and speaks very little, not wanting to answer Kabir’s questions and not seeming at all pleased to see Kabir. He does answer two of Kabir’s questions, telling him that, no, he can’t meet his dad anytime soon, and no, he (Uncle) doesn’t have any kids. Uncle guides Kabir out of the station and toward where they’ll be staying.

Uncle repeats what Amma told Kabir: He’s not allowed to mention to anyone that he was born and raised in prison. If anyone asks, Kabir should say he’s Uncle’s nephew from “the village.” Uncle also says Kabir is “his” now, which Kabir thinks sounds suspicious. It’s also suspicious that Uncle speaks only in Tamil, not Kannada, making Kabir wonder if he’s really family.

They arrive at the large house where Uncle works (and where Amma and Appa used to work). A guard lets them through a gate, and a woman who’s cooking notices them and welcomes Kabir, offering him a snack and chatting with him, but Uncle rushes Kabir away. Kabir asks if he’ll also be working at this house, but Uncle tells Kabir to stop asking questions because where he’s going, they prefer that children keep quiet.

Uncle guides Kabir to their room in the servants’ quarters. He instructs Kabir to bathe and then leaves and returns with food, which is some of the best that Kabir has ever had. He thanks Uncle, but Uncle says he’s only feeding him because it would look bad if he fainted from being hungry. He then leaves again and locks Kabir inside the room. Kabir feels like he’s back in prison again.

Kabir is dealing with sensory overload from all the new sights, sounds, smells, and experiences of the outside world, and he has never been alone this long. He eventually naps, and when he wakes up, he remembers how Grandma Knife said that not everyone is trustworthy. However, he doesn’t even know if he can trust his own judgment because he knows so little about the outside world. Uncle returns with new clothes for Kabir and then says it’s time to leave, but he doesn’t explain where they’re going.

Uncle takes Kabir to a strange man, promising that Kabir is obedient, quiet, and capable of doing any tasks the man wants. The stranger, whom Kabir refers to as “Snake Man” in his head, tells Kabir to wait in the other room, but Kabir can still hear everything. Snake Man asks where Uncle found Kabir. Uncle says that Kabir’s father used to work for the same family Uncle works for. Police came looking for relatives, and since Uncle happens to have the same last name (Khan), the police didn’t check to see if he was actually related to Kabir. The men then haggle until deciding on a price; Fake Uncle is trying to sell Kabir to Snake Man, who deals in human trafficking.

Snake Man tells Fake Uncle to return with Kabir in two days. Uncle protests that he can’t safely hide Kabir in the servants’ quarters until then, but Snake Man says that’s what needs to occur if Fake Uncle wants to get paid the full price. Uncle reluctantly agrees and then leads Kabir outside. Walking back, Uncle holds on to Kabir the whole time until they stop so that Fake Uncle can order a hot coffee. He briefly lets go of Kabir to grab the coffee, but Kabir, thinking quickly and remembering Grandma Knife’s advice to protect himself, grabs it first and hurls it into Fake Uncle’s face. He then seizes the opportunity to run as far from Fake Uncle as he can before the man realizes which way he went.

As Kabir turns a corner, he passes a girl with a parrot riding on her shoulder and dives into a pile of garbage to hide. Fake Uncle appears and asks Parrot Girl if she saw a boy. She says she has seen lots of boys. Fake Uncle offers her money to tell him which way Kabir went. She takes the money and says Kabir got on a bus headed to the other side of town.

Fake Uncle leaves, and Parrot Girl tells Kabir he can come out. She’s older than him, maybe 12 or 13. She helps wipe the trash off his face and gives him the money from Fake Uncle. She asks where he’s from, and he says “jail,” although his mother was innocent. She offers to let Kabir stay with her and the parrot, who can speak some words, such as “Yes.”

Kabir explains how he got out of prison and how Fake Uncle was trying to sell him. Parrot Girl points out how it’s weird that innocent mothers like Amma are locked up but human traffickers like Fake Uncle aren’t.

When Kabir asks if he can wash himself, Parrot Girl jokingly says he can use the temple nearby. Before she can stop him, he rushes over to the fountain, where other people are washing. However, people throw rocks at him and tell him to scram because he’s low caste. Parrot Girl tells them to leave Kabir alone. They run off.

Parrot Girl realizes that Kabir doesn’t understand the cultural norms of the outside world, such as that low-caste people aren’t allowed all the same privileges as high-caste people, who might call Kabir “untouchable” or refuse to be around him. They also treat Parrot Girl poorly because she’s Roma. The girl tells Kabir that her name is Rani and her parrot’s name is Jay. Rani is proud of her heritage and her caste even if others treat her poorly.

Rani explains that Jay doesn’t understand all conversations but can repeat a lot of words. Kabir says that he hopes to find his father so that he can help Kabir get a lawyer and free Amma. Rani warns Kabir against placing all his hope in another person. However, Kabir will never give up hope to free Amma. He thinks his first step is probably to find his grandparents in Bengaluru, which is much closer than Dubai, where, as far as he knows, his father is.

Rani takes Kabir to see the ocean, which is nearby. He’s amazed because, even though he has seen photos and videos, they didn’t prepare him for the real thing. They play in the water. Kabir tries to drink it, and Rani has to explain that sea water, which is salt water, isn’t good for drinking.

They walk back toward Rani’s home. A stranger outside a charity gives Kabir a new T-shirt, and then Rani takes him to a public restroom to wash up. Rani says she sleeps in a tree and that Jay learned to talk from another man, whom Rani called “Grandfather,” who sort of took her in but then died.

Behind Rani’s tree is an empty mansion that people believe is haunted. This means that people avoid the area and leave Rani alone. She builds a fire and then cooks squirrel stew in a tin can. Kabir eats some but vomits. Rani says that tomorrow, Kabir can use the money from Fake Uncle to buy different food.