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Originally named Laila at birth, Sthalekar was born in the city of Pune in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Her biological parents, who were unable to support her, placed her at Shreevatsa, an orphanage attached to Pune's Sassoon Hospital. Haren and Sue Sthalekar, Lisa's adoptive parents, were a couple who lived in Michigan, USA. Haren was born in Bombay and Sue to English parents. The Sthalekars had a daughter and were in India visiting Shreevatsa, hoping to adopt a boy to complete the family.

Unsuccessful in their search and about to leave Shreevatsa, it was suggested that they meet Laila. Sue fell in love with her big brown eyes and within a short period of time they decided to adopt her. They thus completed the necessary legal formalities and renamed Laila as Lisa. Three weeks after her birth, Sthalekar's family brought her back to the United States.

The family travelled onto Kenya for a period for Haren's work as a Christian missionary before eventually settling in Sydney. Lisa Sthalekar visited Shreevatsa on 3 March 2012.

“They asked me whether I wanted to find my biological parents when I was at the orphanage,” Lisa says. “I said, ‘No, actually I don’t.’ They were very respectful about that.”

A five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after getting lost hundreds of kilometers from home. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.