1924

Winter of 1924, Kolkata; it is a time of great uncertainty and socio-political changes in the Indian subcontinent, especially with the resurgence of the Indian Nationalist Movement in various parts of India.

On a relatively secluded Ghat by the Ganga, an 18-year-old boy sits clutching his favourite book in his hands with conflicting ideas running through his head when a veteran freedom fighter in charge of recruiting the boy for an important mission against the British, arrives and sits beside him quietly. He gently probes if the boy can do what it takes to prove his loyalty. However, the boy storms out, visibly upset at the proposition.

Relentless, the recruiter meets the boy outside his house the next morning carrying a little girl with him along. He probes again into his willingness to finish the difficult task at hand before he can be formally recruited for the mission. The boy again storms out.

Later that evening, the father of the little girl carries her through a small alley when they are confronted by the boy. After a few moments of hesitation, the father is shot point blank shattering the silence of the alley. Far away, the recruiter, watches the event unfold through a set of binoculars. Nonchalant, he informs his senior leader that the boy has successfully killed the British informant.

As they discuss the fate of the orphaned little girl, the boy walks away carrying the shocked girl on his shoulders.