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In this Indian drama set within an impoverished village in the state of Orissa, a village chieftain hatches an ingenious but morally bankrupt plot to raise enough dowry so that one of his daughters can marry. The townsfolk have two choices for work: they can become farmers or work in the quarries of the richest man around Zaminder. The quarry work is lucrative but destructive to the local environment and to the health of the people forced to breathe in rock dust. The town is in the process of electing a new village chief and to ensure that he is elected, Zaminder pays villagers money for their votes. The chief's family decides to adopt the town beggar who is dying of tuberculosis. They promise the beggar that they will see that he is cured if he will hand over his vote money. The deal is struck and the chief and his son take him upon the long journey to get cured. Unfortunately, it is a struggle to keep the dying fellow alive until the election and in the end unexpected tragedy ensues.