Stepfather

He is the stepfather of Lakshmi.

As a child, he had broken his arm, but since there were no doctors around at the time, the arm healed crippled and stiff. Because of his injured arm, no factory will hire him, so he cannot make money for his family. When a widow loses her husband, she desperately marries him, so that she can have a man, since a family without a father and husband is frowned upon. He has a son with her, who is only called baby. Because he cannot work, he uses his wife, Ama, and her teenage daughter, Lakshmi to his advantage, by forcing them to rub his feet at night, and cook his meals, and selling their things to serve him. Since he doesn't work, Ama and Lakshmi work by growing crops and selling them. With the money they earn, he takes for himself, and gambles away. Although, this angers Lakshmi, Ama tells her that they are not allowed to say anything to him so that they don't shame him, and we must respect him, because "A man who gambles away our earnings is better than no man at all." Though, Lakshmi disagrees with this.

When the family becomes too poor to survive, the stepfather announces that Lakshmi must go to work in the city as a maid. Though, he secretly sells Lakshmi as a prostitute for a lot of rupees for himself.