After sometime, Bondita's maternal aunt Devoleena sells her to a brothel of Kolkata whose owner was a woman named Tara Bai. Anirudh thinks that Bondita did this intentionally and sends her back to her mother, where people would mistreat her and even try to kill her for being left by her husband. As the con man runs away, Bondita get exposed at his service. A man named Brijwasi Babu, a fake Lord Krishna devotee who deceits people to collect money from them, comes to Tulsipur and traps Bondita into aiding him, taking advantage of Sampoorna's helplessness due to her incomplete dowry, as Bondita became desperate to save her beloved cousin's marriage. Bondita manages to impress Trilochan, and he soon becomes fond of her.Īnirudh comes to know that Bondita is illiterate, as there was no chance for women education in the village. However, Anirudh helps her recover from this complication. Bondita's first problem in her new in-laws' home is due to her drenching her bed at night, a problem caused by traumatization after seeing her father die by snake bite in front of her eyes. Anirudh refuses to recognize Bondita as his wife, and rather sees her as his responsibility.Īfter initial confusion, Anirudh's uncle, Trilochan, accepts Bondita to save their family reputation and starts to prepare her as the Roy Choudhury daughter-in-law. She is supported by Anirudh's father, Binoy, who wanted his son to settle in London and practice his profession there, and who believes that Saudamini can make his dreams come true. Shortly thereafter, Anirudh's lover, Saudamini, also learns about his recent marriage and plots to separate him and Bondita. At his home, everyone is shocked to find Anirudh married. After all his other attempts to do so are in vain, he marries her as a last resort, which succeeds. Anirudh pledges on saving Bondita to Sumati. Nevertheless, the man's relatives and other people consider the marriage to be successfully completed, and sets Bondita to become a part of sati. However, the marriage is not completed, as the elderly man suddenly dies midway through the rituals. He seeks help from the authorities to stop the marriage, but faces resistance. On the day of the wedding, Anirudh comes across the marriage and immediately revolts against it, as the groom is around the age of the bride's grandfather. Bondita's uncle and aunt decide to get Bondita married to an elderly man, while her cousin, Sampoorna, is set to marry Saurabh, Anirudh's best friend. Bondita Das, an 11-year-old Bengali Hindu girl, lives with her widowed mother, Sumati, and her maternal family.
Anirudh was in love and set to be married with his childhood sweetheart Saudamini Bhaumik a.k.a Mini, to which both Anirudh's and Mini's families had consented. Set in the pre-independence era in rural Bengal, Anirudh Roy Choudhary, a 22-year-old barrister, returns from London to Tulsipur, a village where his family practices zamindari, to wipe out customs and societal beliefs which prevent the progress of women.