Plot Summary

In this quiet drama about a large and loving family, what the parents want the most for their children -- a good education -- causes them to endure what they want the least for themselves, an empty house. As this engaging story opens, a retired schoolteacher and his wife are at home with their four grown sons and one daughter. The oldest son is a teacher whose wife is expecting a baby. The youngest son is a student in New Delhi and, defying custom, his young wife opts to go live with her own family while her husband is at school instead of remaining with her in-laws. Will her behavior and that of the younger generation undermine the tradition that holds the society and family together? After the youngest son graduates and gets a job, he and his wife move across the country to New Delhi. As the siblings continue to grow and develop their own lives and families, the mother and father face a gradual and inevitable adjustment to living without them.