A man named Nathu is in a small room with stone walls. A large pig is in the room with him. After luring the pig into the room, Nathu has stabbed it several times but has barely wounded it. It is the middle of the night and he is growing frustrated. He accepted the job of killing the pig from a powerful man of great influence named Murad Ali. Murad Ali promised the pig to a veterinary doctor. Nathu’s efforts to kill the pig continue unsuccessfully and by dawn he is on the verge of abandoning the task and returning the five rupee note with which he was paid. He thinks of his wife and wishes he was asleep in their bed with her. In desperation, he lifts a stone slab and throws it towards the pig in the dark. The pig wobbles towards him and collapses, dead. 

Several men—members of a morning singing party—are waiting outside the office of the Congress Committee. Two members of the CID (secret police) stand nearby, watching them. The Secretary of the District Congress Committee, a man named Bakshiji, arrives. Azis, a member of the singing party, greets him.