The second film in director Ray`s acclaimed Apu Trilogy (see PATHER PANCHALI and THE WORLD OF APU). Winner of the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival.Devastated by a family tragedy, 10-year-old Apu and his parents move to the sacred city of Benares, hoping to build a new life. In Benares, Apu`s father Harihar ekes out a subsistence living as a priest reciting religious scripture. Though his family is poor and his mother burdened with cares, Apu runs freely, ignorant of his parents` concerns. One day, Harihar returns from work faint and feverish. Shortly thereafter, he dies. Widowed, Sarbajaya realizes she has no recourse but to find work. As a cook for a wealthy Bengali family, she makes a decent living for herself and a growing Apu. But she leaves that position to live with her uncle in his village of Bengal. There, Apu excels in school and wins a scholarship to study at a college in Calcutta. Though pleased with her son`s academic success, Sarbajaya`s health is now failing and she needs him at home. Thus begins the clash between a proud woman and her headstrong son.