One afternoon they were caught in a fierce storm and sought shelter under dripping trees with Durga hugging her little brother to keep him warm. Forbidden to enter the orchards of their rich cousins, they hunted for mangoes and fruits in the wilderness. So Apu and Durga lived in their own world. Their rich relatives looked down on them and the rich cousins never asked them to join in their games.
She knew where fruits grew wild and got them for her little brother and herself. Durga knew every tree, every flowering shrub, every dell and nook. The old lady did not return this time and died soon after.Īs Durga and Apu grew older they spent most of their time roaming about the countryside, climbing trees, looking for wild fruits and flowers, watching birds and rabbits, splashing in ponds and rivers. Before long, Sarbojaya picked up another quarrel with old Indir and drove her out. Everyone was delighted, most of all little Durga and old aunt Indir. Whenever Sarbojaya was extra rude the old lady walked out vowing never to return again, Durga toddled after her, lisping ―Come home, aunty, come home‖ and managed to bring her back. But little Durga was extremely fond of old aunt Indir and spent most of her time listening to her stories, learning rhymes from her and playing with her. Sarbojaya strongly resented Indir‘s presence in her little household and made it more than obvious. But Harihar had a little piece of land and a roof of sorts over his head. People usually gave him a few seasonal fruits, vegetables, sweets and a handful of grains and occasionally a rupee or two for conducting these rituals. It was not a profession where one made money. This included people in his own village as well as a few others in nearby villages. So there were regular clients at whose homes he performed them. The traditional business of his family was to conduct religious rituals of different kinds. Tucked away in a corner of Nishchindipur, a tiny village in rural Bengal, his life was simple and uncomplicated, except for the usual ups and downs that go with lack of money. Harihar Roy‘s household consisted of four people – his wife Sarbojaya, baby daughter Durga, 75-year-old Indir, a distant cousin, and himself. Finally he determines to face the life realistically and so decides to take his family to Banaras for search of a new life. The father comes home and is saddened by Durga‘s death. At the end even Durga falls sick and dies.
The aunt had the last wish to die in the courtyard of her house but she dies at the orchard. The aunt is always in loggerheads with the mother. Durga is seen facing false charges of theft. However, the mother gets fully tired of her husband‘s complacency. Durga has developed a very cordial relationship with her aunt, who shares each and everything with her. Apu, their son grows amidst the love and pampering of mother and sister.
The mother Sarbojaya is a woman of the world who has the responsibility of raising her small daughter Durga and also taking care of her elder sister-in-law. The father Harihar is priest, an optimist and dreamer, who never compromised with his dreams in spite of living in abject poverty. The story of the novel revolves around a poor Brahmin family in Bengal.
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