 Sometime in the early years of the century, a boy, Apu, is born to a poor Brahmin family in a village in Bengal. The father, a poet and priest, cannot earn enough to keep his family going. Apu s sister, Durga, is forever stealing guavas from the neighbour s orchards. All these add to the daily struggles of the mother s life, notwithstanding her constant bickering with old aunt who lives with the family.