Homeless Bird

Koly lives with her poor family in India. When she is 13, her parents arrange a marriage and scrape together money for a dowry. Koly and her parents don’t meet her future husband, Hari, until the wedding day. Her parents feel angry and cheated when they discover Hari is no older than Koly and very sick. The arrangement can’t be undone, so Koly’s parents return to their hometown after the ceremony.

Koly is immediately uncomfortable with her new saas (mother-in-law) and sassur (father-in-law). She learns they’re using the dowry money to take Hari to the holy city of Varanasi. The waters of the Ganges River are supposed to have healing powers. Koly briefly speaks to Hari alone. She discovers he is spoiled and deathly ill, but kind. He likes Koly and insists his parents take her with them to Varanasi.

In Varanasi, Hari’s parents and their local friends carry Hari to the river. Dipping him in the cold water only makes him sicker, and he eventually dies. Although Koly is a widow at 13, she can’t return home or she’ll disgrace her family. She knows Sass and Sassur don’t want her, but staying with them is her only option. Sass heaps chores on her and criticizes all she does.

Koly’s only joy comes from talking with Chandra, Hari’s younger sister. When Sass and Sassur arrange a marriage for Chandra several years later, Koly feels utterly alone and dreams of escaping. Sassur, an educator, provides some comfort when he teaches her to read. He becomes increasingly weak and despondent as technology and disrespectful students undermine his effectiveness. After the school fires him, he soon dies.

Sass says they are moving because her brother in Dehli needs their help. She has purchased two train tickets. They make a stop in the holy city of Vrindavan for a pilgrimage, and Sass sends Koly for food. When Koly returns, Sass is gone.

Koly learns family members often abandon widows in this city. She survives for a few days by sleeping on a stoop and spending the remainder of the food money Sass left her. When she’s broke, she returns to the train station to find the young rickshaw driver, Raji, who carried her and Sass when they first arrived. A man grabs Koly and tries to carry her off, promising her food and fine clothing. She bites him and runs, taking refuge with a family nearby until she sees Raji. Raji takes Koly to a home for widows, which is funded by a rich woman named Mrs. Devi. The kind but strict Maa Kamala runs the home.

Maa Kamala helps Koly get a job at a flower shop with another young widow named Tanu. Tanu and Koly become friends. Koly dislikes stringing flower garlands but is thankful for a home and steady income. When Mrs. Devi visits the home, she sees the intricately embroidered quilt Koly made, depicting her childhood memories. Mrs. Devi takes Koly to meet Mr. Das, the owner of a shop where elaborate saris are made. Mr. Das hires her, impressed by her talent. Koly loves the work and enjoys the other women in the shop.

A chic young co-worker named Mala invites Koly to her apartment. Maa Kamala knows Mala and forbids Koly to go. Koly asks Tanu to cover for her and goes to Mala’s anyway. She finds herself at a party where a young man propositions her and slips marijuana in her drink. Another partygoer rescues her and returns her safely to Tanu.

Raji often visits Koly so she can teach him to read. He has dreams of leaving the city and working part of a relative’s land. Koly grows to like him and is disappointed when he stops visiting. He returns to town months later to tell her he has been pursuing his dream and building a house. He wants Koly to come and be his wife.

Koly loves Raji, but she is proud of her job and independence. She says she needs to think about his offer, but she becomes increasingly convinced she wants to be with him. She agrees to his proposal but asks him to give her time to make a wedding quilt. They write to each other often, and he tells her he’s built her a special room with views where she can do her embroidery.

Koly is still hesitant about living as a housewife. Then Mr. Das agrees to let her work from home and bring her projects to him every few months. Excited to start her new life, Koly rushes to finish the quilt that depicts the stories of her past and hopes for the future.