"My child." "Child." "Do you remember getting married?" "No." "Your husband is dead." "You're a widow now." "For how long, father?" "Chuyia!" "Chuyia!" "Let's go home, father." "This is your home now." "Then where is Ma?" "Where is Ma?" "Where is Ma?" "Come on." "Don't leave me here." "Let me go." "I'm not staying here." "Quiet." "Shut her mouth." "Hey you whore, you haven't fed my parrot, Mitthu." "There are no lentils." "What!" "No lentils?" "Then go buy some." "No lentils!" "Kunti, let her go." "You." "Come here." "Go." "You poor thing." "How I feel for you." "I was also young... when my bastard husband died." "Come sit here." "In grief, we are all sisters here... and this house is our refuge." "I want my mother." "Our Holy Books say, a wife is part of her husband, while he's alive." "Right?" "And when husbands die," "God help us, wives also half die." "So how can a half-dead woman feel pain?" "Because she's half alive?" "Don't try and be too clever... or I'll throw you into the river!" "I don't want to be a stupid widow." "Fatty!" "What did you say?" "She bites like a little bitch!" "What are you staring at?" "Catch her." "Ass lickers!" "Are your arms and legs broken?" "Catch her!" "Let her go." "But, sister Madhu..." "Leave." "Come here." "Come here." "Turn around and sit." "It's Turmeric." "It cools the head." "You saved me like the Goddess Durga." "Sharp teeth and a sharper imagination." "Go, sit in the sun." "Are you deaf?" "They'll throw me in the river." "Only if you bite someone else." "Come here little one." "What's your name?" "Chuyia." "Chuyia the mouse the mouse with sharp teeth." "What's your name?" "My husband embraced eternity, and I never looked at another." "You can call me Auntie." "You really made that fat cow dance." "Do you have a sweet?" "Awake or asleep, even in dreams, all I see are sweets." "You're back?" "Water?" "Up here!" "An angel!" "Close your eyes." "Close them." "His name is Kaalu." "You can play with him anytime." "You feed him." "He has fleas." "I should bathe him." "Downstairs?" "No silly." "Dogs aren't allowed here." "They're a bad omen." "Don't tell anyone about Kaalu." "But I'm not staying here." "My mother's coming to get me." "If not today, tomorrow for sure." "Krishna, this is my friend." "What's your name?" "Chuyia." "Can he hear you?" "Of course." "He hears everything." "What did he say?" "He says you won't be here long." "I told you so." "In a day, chantjai shree Krishna, a hundred and eight times, and soon you'll fly away!" "But I can only count to ten." "This has one hundred and eight beads." "Why don't you start the prayer?" "Mat..." "While the priest was reciting the vows," "I started to laugh." "Ma slapped me hard, and then until the end not a squeak from me." "Afterwards..." "I know what happened." "What?" "The wedding feast." "You should have seen the sweets..." "Plump white rasgullas, piping hot gulab jamuns" "The saliva was drooling out of my mouth." "Yellow ladoos, made with pure butter." "Cashew-nut sweets, covered with gold leaf." "Life is so disappointing." "Good, fleas and sins washed away." " Chuyia." "Stop laughing." " Why?" "Why what?" "Give me the towel." "Let me." "He'll come back!" "What are you doing?" "Widows shouldn't run around like unmarried girls." "You've polluted me!" "I have to bathe again." "Catch him." "Is he yours?" "Yes." "He doesn't like to bathe." "What's wrong?" "I'm..." "I mean..." "Kalyani's lost." "We should find her then." "Yes." "Poor thing." "Do you know I'm a widow?" "Yes." "What's your name?" "What's your name?" "Narayan?" "Like Lord Vishnu's Narayan?" "Yes." "Kalyani, I found him." "Always running around like your namesake the mouse!" "Narayan found Kaalu." "Let's go." "Where do you live?" "I mean..." "I'm not asking where you live, but... asking if you are lost then I could take you where you live." "She lives in a house of widows," "I'm just visiting her." "Chuyia, tell him not to follow us, it'll be a sin." "...it'll be a sin!" " But where is this house of widows?" " I don't know." "Ask her if she knows." "Ask her if she knows!" "Dharma Ghat." "Next to the river." "God bless you." "I've been waiting the whole day." "Not even a letter from you." "How did your exams go?" "Pass or fail?" "Double fail." "Rascal!" "Live long... be happy." "Master, should I unpack for you?" "No." "Sadhuramji." "Don't get drunk with this." "My hands haven't touched the bottle for years." "Make sure your lips don't either!" "My husband the old bastard was so horny... the minute he climbed on me... instead of coming... he went, straight to Heaven." "Bastard!" "Pleasing himself in Heaven." "And left me stuck in Hell." "Poor man." "Poor who?" "Poor you I mean." "Have you heard?" " What?" " That Mohandas..." "Mohandas who?" "Is he a new client?" "No Mohandas Gandhi." "He's come from the jungles of Africa." "He doesn't drink, he doesn't sleep." "Why?" "Doesn't he feel sleepy?" "No." "He doesn't sleep with women." "For discipline he says." "Why are you still here?" "Take her to Seth Dwarkanath." "Standing there and gossiping." "Hand it over." "Long live Lord Shiva!" "There she goes." "There goes who?" "A whore." "To meet a client." "Perhaps my father." "Does she look like a whore?" "She's a widow, you fool." "I know." "The gentry here, have an 'unnatural concern' for widows." "Gulabi..." "Does Lord Krishna take on human form?" "Of course he does." "Haven't you seen us re-enact his life story?" "He plays himself, while I play his adoring milkmaid!" "My father doesn't even bother with their names." "There's the old one, the fat one, the new one, the young one." "Rabindra, you should get your father to join Gandhi." "Seth Bhupindernath and Gandhi... hand in hand liberate the widows of India." "You can laugh, you don't have an oaf for a father." "No, definitely not." "Have you thought of joining the Congress?" "Are you crazy?" "I happen to like English ways." "Their cricket, their whiskey... and what poets they have!" "If Gandhi can free India, then think how Byron would sound, recited by a free man." "You haven't become a Nationalist have you?" "Passive resistance." "An intriguing concept." "Forget it." "Romantics make terrible Nationalists." "O Sacred River..." "Radiant like the moon..." "Home of the Eminent..." "Home..." "When do we stop praying?" "Don't you have a dry sari?" "It's in your house." "Bring it tomorrow." "Tomorrow I'll be in my own house." "A new widow." " Sit up straight!" " Don't scold her." "She's just a child." "Child indeed!" "She's turned the house upside down." "Where is the house for men widows?" "Good God!" "What a horrible thing to say." "God protect our men from such a fate." "May your tongue burn." "Pull out her tongue and throw it in the river." "Kunti, where's my food?" "Coming." "Where is Kalyani?" "You and your questions." "Witch." "Shut up." "Black tongue." "Eat slowly." "Chew each grain." "Your next meal is tomorrow." "With her uncut hair and clients... eating with Kalyani would pollute our food..." "Right?" "I don't even remember being seven." "What did you say?" "She says, she doesn't remember being seven." "Ask me," "I remember." "I got married when I was seven." "Plump juicy rasgullas, piping hot gulab jamuns, cashew-nut sweets, covered with gold leaf, yellow ladoos, dripping in butter." "I ate them all when I was seven." "What do you want?" "Uh, is..." "Chuyia here?" "Are you a relative?" "A friend." "Men are not allowed here." "Can't you watch what you're doing?" "Please forgive us." "No... it's all right." "You can do it again if you want!" "Where did she go?" "She's hiding." "Gone!" "Watch it!" "Don't let your shadow touch the bride!" "Such ignorance." "It's this ignorance that is our misfortune." "Shakuntula, you've been doing this service for many years." "So many years of sacrifice and devotion." "Do you feel closer to self liberation?" "If self liberation means... detachment from worldly desires." "Then no, I'm no closer." "Whatever happens... never lose your faith." "Never lose your faith." "I hate you!" "She's still not used to this." "Get lost." "I have money." "Widows don't eat fried food." "What do you want?" "Speak up." "Hail Lord Shiva!" "Auntie." "Auntie." "What is it, little mouse?" "A ladoo!" "Chuyia!" "Where are you?" "Well done my Chuyia." "Do my feet now." "Yes." "Gently." "My skin is like satin." "If a mosquito sits on me, it creates a crater." "Ask Gulabi." " I always keep my promises." " Always." "If she says she'll send you home, then she will." " Did you know?" " Know what?" "This Gandhi is going to sink India." "What's he done now?" "He says the Untouchables are... children of God." "Disgusting!" "Before he came everything ran like an English clock." "You'll be seen." "Take me back." "Are you insane?" "I want to go back." "Then you can tell the client." "To shut someone's mouth during a recital... is an insult Narayan!" "Who's that?" "A eunuch." "My father's pimp." "In English... a procurer." "There's a famous saying." "Widows, bulls, slippery steps and holy men." "Avoid these, and Liberation awaits." "Can't you ever be serious?" "Say you had a wife..." "I'm not married." "Just imagine you were... and she died, and everything you've cared for is taken away from you." "If you hadn't met that widow, you wouldn't be such a champion of their cause." "I don't even know how to see her again." "Stand beneath her balcony, but don't quote Romeo." "People here don't know Shakespeare." "You really are a brown Englishman." "I'll tell you one thing Rabindra, your precious English are not going to last." "And who's going to take their place?" "Your Gandhi?" "Take me outside." "You'll be all right." "Sleep now." "Take me outside." "I want a ladoo." "Try to sleep." "Do you want water?" "Take me outside." "No." "We should take her outside." "Aunty is so lucky." "Brahmin widows keeping vigil, and that too for free." "Shakuntala," "Holy Water." "Get some water from the river." "Hurry!" "Remember me?" "Narayan?" "Yes." "Is Kalyani inside?" "Yes." "I have to go." "Wait." "Give this to Kalyani." "Water!" "You're too late." "The money for the cremation?" "Every penny that we have goes for the rent." "Go get Auntie's things." "Nothing." "I was saving these for my cremation." "What a goddess!" "Where do you run off to?" " Don't you listen?" "I've told you..." " You're always angry." "I was going home." "You can't go home." "I know." "Forget that life." "Auntie ate a ladoo." "Don't worry." "After eating the ladoo, she'll go to Heaven." "God willing she'll be reborn as a man." "I would like to meet you tonight." "At Karam Ghat." "At the Shiv temple I will wait for you." "Yours, Narayan." "I met him with Chuyia." "I didn't ask." "What should I do?" "Don't ask me." "I'm here." "'On the banks of the river, where the kadamba flowers bloom'..." "The kadamba is a flower so fragrant, that people swoon in its presence." "It's from Kalidas's poem, 'Meghdoot'." "I can't read." "Sister Shakuntala read your letter." "Do you know what Meghdoot is?" "In Sanskrit, megh means a raincloud, and doot, a messenger." "The poem is about... the pain of separation between two lovers." "Continue." "The lover tells the cloud, it resembles Lord Vishnu... in Krishna's guise, gleaming with peacock feathers." "And the cloud heard him?" "How is that possible?" "If we believe that a statue of God can hear us, why not a cloud?" "Are you gentry?" "Would it matter if I was?" "Yes." "I just finished my law exams." "When did you become a widow?" "I don't remember." "Maybe... when I was nine." " Was your husband good to you?" " I never met him." "Anyone else, in your house?" "My mother, my father," "Sadhuramji." "No, I'm not married." "Good God!" "Why not?" "My father says, childhood is a time for play, not for marriage." "And your mother?" "If she had her way," "I'd have a daughter as old as Chuyia." "Your mother's right." "That's how things are." "That's how things were." "Times are changing." "All the old traditions are dying out." "All of them?" "But what is good should not die out." "And who will decide... what is good," "and what is not?" "You!" "When do we get food?" "Today we fast." "No food, no water." "Come in." "What's wrong?" "No tantrums?" "You're getting used to this life." "Come sit here." "I have to go." "Kalyani's reciting Kalidas." "What?" "A Poem." "Megh means cloud, and doot... a messenger." "The Cloud Messenger." "Come on, let's send a message." "Did you send your message?" "I don't want to send one." "Why won't you send one?" "Have you gone deaf?" "She wants you." "You are lucky Mitthu, you don't have to fast." "Yes?" "Come on in child." "Here, this is for you." "Wait child." "You must take care of yourself." "You are the jewel of this house." "If you are happy, our clients are happy." "And when they are happy, I am happy." "This is an ashram, not a brothel." "This is the edge of the city." "Where the British live." "They don't care if you're a widow." "Why not?" "Don't they have widows?" "Of course they do." "But not like ours." "It must be hard for you." "Sometimes yes, sometimes no." "'Learn to live like a lotus untouched by the filthy water it grows in.'" "Krishnaji said it in the Geeta." "Krishna was a God." "Not everyone can live like the lotus flower." "Yes, they can." "It's ink." "I didn't have time to change." "I was applying for a job in Calcutta." "What's wrong?" "When do you go?" "As soon as they call me." "And when will you be back?" "I'm not going anywhere without you." "Are you asleep?" "Yes." "Wake up." "What?" "Speak softly." "Did you have a fight with father?" "He's never here to have a fight with." "What does he preach?" "That's Gandhiji, not some crooked priest." "So, what does he say then?" "He talks about freedom, about truth." "To talk about truth is easy, but to live by it is not." "The girl's father is getting impatient." "What?" "Turn off that gramophone!" "I want a yes, or a no." "No!" "What?" "Don't you want to set up a family?" "It's not like setting yogurt." "Who am I going to find for you?" "You don't have to." "I found her myself." "Really?" "Is that true?" "Do I know her?" "No." "Is she fair skinned?" "Yes." "Tell me quickly who is she?" "She's a widow Ma." "Gandhi has turned you into a lunatic!" "Marry a widow?" "How can you even think of it?" "This is a sin." "You should get a gold medal for drama Ma." "Raja Ramohan Roy says widows should get remarried." "And Raja whoever Roy, what does he know of our traditions?" "What will your father say?" "He'll be pleased, he's a liberal thinker." "Stop it!" "Have some?" "I've been farting non-stop since this morning." "I ate too much last night." "Here, eat some." "Are you mad?" "Giving a widow forbidden food." "I'll eat a hundred puris at Kalyani's wedding." "Whose wedding?" "Kalyani's wedding." "And when is her wedding?" "Don't know." "She'll get married over my dead body." "Widows don't get married." "But she will." "I know she will." "No!" "She won't!" "Now get off!" "She will get married." "She will." "She will." "She will." "Drown yourself, liar!" "Madhu Fatty!" "Liar Fatty!" "Madhu Fatty!" "Liar Fatty!" "Bitchy Fatty!" "Get off the old bitch, she'll die!" "Get this devil off me!" "Chuyia, that's enough." "Chuyia, stop." "Chuyia." "Enough." "Come here." "Chuyia says you're getting married." " Yes." " Have you gone mad?" "Nobody marries a widow." "He will." "Shameless." "You'll sink yourself and us." "We'll be cursed." "We must live in purity, to die in purity." "Then why did you send me across the river?" "For survival." "And how we survive here, no one can question, not even God!" "We would have burnt in Hell because of her." "I've saved you." "I've saved you all." "Let's see the whore get married now." "Is this true?" "Yes." "You'll let Kalyani out, won't you?" "To even think of remarriage is a sin." "Why?" "Ask God." "How will you get married now?" "You've become bald." "Don't worry, I'll get married." "I hope that fat Madhumati drowns!" "If widows start to fantasize they'll turn blind." "Let's see how she gets married now." "What a disaster." "If one widow wants to marry, all the widows of India will want to marry." "A catastrophe!" "Do you know what he says?" " Who?" " Gandhi." "He says widows are strangers to love, and nobody should be a stranger to love." "What's wrong?" "I miss my dear departed Mitthu." "My Mitthu." "My Mitthu." "Are you in Heaven, my Mitthu?" "I hear Mitthu was murdered." "I know you're not asleep." "I won't ask about Mitthu." "Tell me, what do I look like?" "Old." "You have studied the Holy Scriptures." "Is it written, that widows should be treated badly?" "The Scriptures say, that widows have three options." "They can burn with their dead husbands, or lead a life of self-denial, or if the family permits, marry their husband's younger brother." "However," "a law was recently passed, which favours widow remarriage." "A law?" "Why don't we know about it?" "We ignore the laws... that don't benefit us." "Keys to her room." "I won't give them." "The keys." "I told you I won't give them." "If you open the door, you destroy us all." "Imbecile!" "Don't open the door." "Leave." "Go." "If you go to him," "I won't let you come back." "I love you very much." "Will you marry me?" "Come and play Holi." "We've dressed you... for his Festival of Colour." "Stop sulking." "What's the first colour you'll wear?" "Blue." "The colour of Lord Krishna." "A blue sari with a gold border." "You'll look as beautiful as a peacock feather." "You really told your mother?" "Yes." "What did you say?" "I said I wanted to marry you." "And what did she say?" "She began to cry." "Good God!" "Father and I will convince her." "Look... my house." "What's your father's name?" "Dwarkanath..." "Seth Dwarkanath." "Turn the boat around." "What happened?" "Turn the boat around." "Sit Kalyani." "At least tell me what's wrong." "Alright, you don't need to say anything." "But I do need to." "Then please try." "I can't." "Ask your father." "What?" "What happened was unfortunate." "However..." "However what?" "So you've found out she's not a goddess." "Don't marry her, keep her as a mistress." "I respected you so much." "Brahmins can sleep with whomever they want, and the women they sleep with are blessed." "Do you know Lord Ram told His brother never to honour those Brahmins who interpret the Holy Texts for their own benefit?" "You're not a hero in an epic play, ready to wage war for love." "You disgust me." "Did you put butter?" "Yes." "So, you've come back." "Your father-in-law didn't like you?" "Wait there," "Gulabi will be here soon." "I've come for Kalyani." "The Holy Texts say all this is an illusion." "Kalyani's death is no illusion." "Have faith." "Why is your faith so strong?" "I don't know." "Why are we widows sent here?" "There must be a reason for it." "One less mouth to feed." "Four saris saved, one bed," "and a corner is saved in the family home." "There is no other reason why you are here." "Disguised as religion, it's just about money." "I always keep my promises." " Don't I?" " Everyone knows you do." "But she doesn't even want to go home." "Right?" "I want to go home." "Alright then, Gulabi will take you." "You know where my home is?" "She does." "Gulabi knows everything." "But if you don't want to go, you don't have to." "After all, I'm also like your mother." "Can I take Kaalu?" "Weapons cannot cleave it, fire cannot burn it, eternal and all pervading, is this soul." "Holy Water." "The British have let Gandhiji out of jail!" "He's free, on his way from Allahabad." "Gandhi is one of the few people in the world, who listens to the voice of his conscience." "But... what if our conscience conflicts with our faith?" "Who's house is this?" "This is Kalyani's friend's house." "Play here for a while, then I'll take you home." "No." "Don't you want sweets and fried bread?" "Let's go!" "I've come to play." "Have you seen Chuyia?" "Ask Madhu." "Where's Chuyia?" " Have you seen Chuyia?" " What?" "Have you seen her?" "Have you seen her?" "I've sent her." "Where did you send her?" "Where did you send her?" "Open your eyes!" " Where did you send her?" " With Gulabi." "Wake up!" "Wake up!" "Wake up!" "Take me across the river." "My child..." "What are your plans?" "To take the train, and leave this place behind" "The British have let Gandhiji out of jail." "He's here at the train station for five minutes." "He's holding his prayer meeting." "If you want his blessings be there!" "Live long." "Be happy." "My dear brothers and sisters, for a long time I believed that God is Truth." "But today I know, that Truth is God." "The pursuit of truth... is invaluable for me." "I trust it will be the same for you." "Long live Gandhi!" "Please let me through." "Brothers, please take her with you." "Please, give her to Gandhiji." "Brother!" "Help her, please help her!" "Take this child with you!" "Why doesn't anybody listen?" "This child is a widow!" "Make sure she's in Gandhiji's care!" "Don't be afraid." "Give her to Gandhi!"