Ashami Hajir by Bimal Mitra [Hardcover]

The landlord of Kaliganj, Harsha, knowing that his death was imminent, entrusted the responsibilities of his estate to his steward, Narnarayan, just before embarking on his final journey to the Ganges. However, the cunning steward deceived the widow of the former landlord and seized all the property. Eventually, he bought an estate in Nawabganj and became the master there.

The widow of Kaliganj’s landlord, enraged by this, filed a lawsuit against the new Nawabganj landlord. But the shrewd landlord promised her 10,000 rupees in exchange for withdrawing the case. The helpless widow accepted the offer, but she never received the money. In her despair, she cursed him, saying his lineage would be wiped out.

The landlord's only heir, Harnarayana, had a son named Sadananda, who was the sole successor to the estate. However, after learning of the wrongdoings of his father and grandfather, Sadananda became indifferent. In an attempt to keep the family line going, he was married off to a beautiful young girl. But Sadananda, not wanting to extend the bloodline tainted by his ancestors, refused to stay in the same room as his wife.

Seeing Sadananda's actions, reminiscent of Prahlada’s defiance amidst the demonic lineage, the family members of the zamindar household, one by one, died in despair. Later, Sadananda donated all the money (which his uncle had tried to claim for himself) to build a hospital and a school in the village. He gave the remaining half of the fortune to his wife, who had remarried one of her childhood friends.

Years later, it was discovered that the hospital and school were bombed amid allegations of corruption, and Sadananda’s once-loyal wife had become addicted to alcohol. It was then that Sadananda realized that, despite his good intentions, he had truly helped criminals.