Hidden Treasure

Chintamoni lives as a tenant in a wealthy, devout household, where she works to hold her ordinary, lower-class family together. Her marriage to an unremarkable man offers her nothing, and her son's heart disease hangs over her austere days.

Things change when a secretive devotee of Ma Kali takes a room in the house and Chintamoni realises he has been watching her. His arrival stirs desires she had long set aside and brings her both love and money. But the events that should have improved her life end up making it far worse.

Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay's novel, translated by Ipsa S, is the story of one woman and of women in general, trying to make something of their lives in a world ruled by men, money and religion.