The Mendicant Prince

A prince or an imposter? The law itself is baffled. In 1909, Ramendranarayan Roy, the ailing second prince of Bengal’s Bhawal estate, is advised a change of air by his physicians. He proceeds to Darjeeling, accompanied by his wife Bibhavati Debi, her brother Satyendranath and a large retinue of officials and retainers. Three weeks later a telegram, sent by Satyendranath, arrives at the royal palace carrying news that the prince breathed his last the previous night and has been cremated. Soon afterwards, various rumours start circulating through the estate – that the prince was in fact poisoned, or that his body had been taken to the burning ghat but hadn’t actually been cremated. There are also whispers about an incestuous relationship between Bibhavati and her brother. Twelve years after the supposed death, a mendicant comes to Bhawal, claiming to be the heir to the estate. Soon a legal case is initiated wherein the mendicant appearing as the plaintiff will face off against his supposed wife and brother-in-law – the defendants. But the court will learn that there are no easy answers to the chief question: is the sannyasi truly the prince who was presumed dead, or is he an avaricious imposter?