A widow with a grim face sits in the front yard of her house, under a small tree, weaving baskets for a living. Her little daughter who often plays truant from school wishes her mother would smile and dress up like other mothers. She also wishes her mother would not beat her up so much and not bathe her as if she was inflicting a capital punishment. The young girl has also to run errands for her mother -- deliver baskets woven on order and occasionally run to the Brahmin household opposite to buy pickles for two paise for her mother.

The young girl pushes herself to school to fulfil her father's dying wish and finally takes up a job. And one day she decides to write about her experiences and the experiences of those around her. She gets to be known as Urmila Pawar, the Marathi writer whose writings reflect Dalit experiences of living. In Urmila's narration of her life, one can see many stories and in her stories, one can see her life.