Uttaran
by Soumyava Goswami
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Recently widowed, the simple and naïve Deepali suddenly stops crying and begins training her 15-year-old daughter, Geeta, to be “modern.” She teaches her foreign customs and behavior. Geeta is baffled—has her mother gone mad from grief? Deepali herself is also trying to change her outward appearance and demeanor. When Geeta asks her the reason, Deepali replies, “A relative from abroad is coming for a week. To make them comfortable, we need to change a bit.” Geeta is suspicious, asking, “For the past sixteen years, aside from Dad, we’ve never had any family living abroad. Where did this relative suddenly come from?” Deepali silences her daughter's questions with a sharp retort.
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On the appointed day, Liza and her daughter Anjali arrive. Strangely, despite being from abroad, they behave like ordinary Bengali women—nothing like what Deepali and Geeta expected. It’s decided that Liza will stay in Deepali’s room and Anjali in Geeta’s. Thus begins a quiet battle between the two pairs of mothers and daughters, each trying to win the other's heart. But why? What secret lies beneath?
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Seven days later, before Liza’s return abroad, Deepali asks her to sign a document. Liza pulls out a similar one. Curious, Geeta and Anjali ask what the papers are. At last, Deepali and Liza are forced to confess the truth.
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It turns out that Liza is actually Deepali’s sautan—her husband Ajay’s other wife. Ajay had been working abroad and had secretly married Liza there, hiding his first marriage and daughter. He had deceived both wives and daughters for years. After Ajay’s death in a road accident, both women discovered his duplicity during an insurance investigation. The papers in question were from the insurance company—only one wife could legally claim the money. One needed to sign away her rights and declare the other the legitimate spouse.
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To secure that one small signature, both women had pretended to be friendly and affectionate. Liza even learned Bengali culture to win Deepali over. Now the question loomed—who would sacrifice her claim?
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But then, Geeta and Anjali intervened. They said, “Why degrade yourselves for money from a man who betrayed you both your whole lives? We don’t want his money. We’ll work and build our lives on our own.”
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Moved by this, Deepali and Liza informed the insurance company that Ajay was not their husband. With the help of the younger generation, the older generation evolved. The words “first wife” and “second wife” dissolved. Deepali and Liza, Geeta and Anjali—became true sisters in spirit.
