A MONTH PASSED. Shorbojoya lived in a constant state of hopelessness, fear and hardship. She thought constantly about different ways to stay afloat with her son, but nothing remotely useful came to her. Throughout it all, the temptation of returning to the soothing familiarity of Contentment kept popping into her mind, but each time she squashed it mercilessly. Going back wasn’t an option. First, they had nothing left in Contentment except the dilapidated old house, for all their land and possessions had been sold to either meet debts, or to finance their move to Kashi. Second, for a month before she left, Shorbojoya had taken great pleasure in painting the picture of her family’s imminent success to all the women and girls of the village. The stagnant little pond of Contentment didn’t have the wherewithal to understand her husband’s true worth, she had explained loftily, but the world outside was simply dying to bestow him with wealth and honour. It wouldn’t even take a full year, she had predicted, for their poverty to turn into a life of plenty.

That had been last Choitro—less than a year ago. How could she go back to that neighbourhood now, newly widowed and completely penniless? The very idea made her want to melt into the ground in shame and embarrassment at herself. She couldn’t bear to look into familiar eyes. No, she was not going to go back to Contentment. Whatever happened, she was going to stay here. Even if she had to beg on the streets with her son by her side, at least there would be no one to see her, no one to know who she was.

But then, at the end of the month, a new avenue opened up. A gentleman from Kedar Ghat came to the Ramkrishna Mission, asking after brahmin women in need of work. A rich Bengali family was looking for a woman from their own caste to move into their house and help with domestic chores. After some back and forth, the Mission decided to recommend Opu and his mother to the gentleman. When Shorbojoya heard the news, she felt like she had finally sighted land after months of being cast away. Two days after this, the gentleman sent word that mother and son should prepare to leave Kashi permanently, for the employing family had only been in the city for a visit. They would be leaving for their hometown soon, and needed their new employee to travel with them.

The hometown house turned out to be an enormous yellow mansion. Opu had seen several enormous multi-wing mansions in Kashi, with several verandas and courtyards. This house was exactly like those. Shorbojoya entered the house behind the long line of travelling family and staff, trying to make herself small and unnoticeable. When the group finally made its way to the inner wings, a roll of cheer went up. Not for her and her son, but for the people ahead—family members and relatives who had just