Twelve years after joining the esoteric Mahima monastic order, Bikas goes with his guru on a journey in the outside world. First they go to Bikas’ birthplace. Bikas’ guru advises him to visit his mother, who lives alone, and to act the beggar and ask her for alms. It is a ritual that is necessary for the monastic order, a symbolic cutting of all links with the past. His mother, who is sick and is helped in the housekeeping by Malati, a local girl who is still very attached to Bikas, refuses to give alms to him. Torn by conflicting emotions, Bikas seeks solace in the pious words of his guru. Then they reach the big city, where the guru leaves Bikas alone. In the bustle of the city, something breaks in Bikas. In the meantime, a marriage is being arranged in his birthplace for Malati, against her wishes. Then one evening Malati finds Bikas unconscious outside her house. She tends him and their suppressed feelings come to the surface. Next day Bikas flees to the monastery, overcome by guilt, but there he is advised to go home. But when he gets back home, Malati has gone.The power of Khatua’s film is in the combination of the worldliness of the wandering monks – making the film into a roadmovie – and their esoteric ascetism in a rapidly-changing India.
