Plot Summary:After the partition of India in 1947, Shashikanta's family, like millions of other Hindu families of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), faced the dilemma of whether to migrate from the land in which they have been living for centuries. But Shashikanta Sengupta, an eccentric lawyer, stubbornly refuses to leave his motherland. Widower Shashikanta has two children, Minoti and Bidyut. Anuprava Devi is an affectionate old aunt who lives with the family. The family has a house in Narail, a small provincial town on the bank of the Chitra river. Some Muslim neighbors eye Shashaikanta's house. But the family refuse to migrate. Shashikanta's children Minoti and Bidyut are friends with the neighboring Muslim children- Badal, Salma and Nazma. Minoti and Badal become more than friends. The children grow up. Badal goes to Dhaka University. Those were the days in 1960's when the atmosphere of the universities was charged with political radicalism. Badal got involved in anti-military student movement and while participating in a demonstration for democracy was killed by police firing.Shashikanta's brother Nidhukanta is an idealist doctor who lives in their ancestral village on the other side of the Chitra River. During the 1964 riot between the Hindus and the Muslims, his daughter Basanti, a widow, is raped. Basanti commits suicide by drowning herself in the Chitra River. Nidhukanta's family migrate to India. All these untoward incidents happening around affect Shashikanta's failing health. He suffers a heart stroke and passes away. Minoti and Anuprava finally leave for the border en route to Calcutta.
