A young man of thirty three marries a seven year old bride. That’s right , a seven year old. How twisted is this? If you think this is bad wait for this – That child becomes a widow for life at sixteen with two babies already…

Bless all those souls who brought in the laws against child marriages! This is what I felt once I turned to the last page of this book.

The story starts somewhere around the end of 18th century in an old village of Majilpur. The orthodox mindset , harsh societal practices, the meaningless traditions, the worthless marriage customs – My god! My god! My god!
The life of women portrayed right from 1870’s till 1940’s is nothing short of a hellish curse. The vivid description about the lifestyle of people by the author, brings the 18th century Kolkata right in front of our eyes.
As time flies by, we are able to witness the gradual reforms and change in mindset creeping in for the better.
It left with me a heavy heart after reading through. I will definitely need a dose of Wodehouse after this!
But overall well written book, with just one minus for me. I had to refer to the family tree at the start of the book, several times, because there are too many characters and it gets hard to keep track of all of them.