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. Apus sister, Durga, is forever stealing guavas from the neighbours orchards. All these add to the daily struggles of the mothers life, notwithstanding her constant bickering with old aunt who lives with the family.