The title itself is a clever juxtaposition: Desi (rooted in traditional Indian values) + Sauteli Maa (stepmother, often a negative archetype). The show asks: Can a stepmother be desi in her own right—loving, flawed, adjusting—rather than a one-dimensional villain? Set in a bustling middle-class family in Lucknow (or a similar small-to-tier-2 city), the story revolves around Ragini Srivastav (played by a rising OTT actress), a 32-year-old divorcee who remarries a widower, Mr. Avinash Tripathi , a government officer with two teenage children— Aarav (17) and Tara (15) .

– Ragini discovers she cannot have biological children due to a medical condition. Instead of using this to gain sympathy, she hides it to avoid "pity love." But the children overhear her crying at the hospital.

A must-watch for anyone who has ever been a stepchild, a stepparent, or simply wondered if family can be rebuilt after loss. Available on Bindass Times Network digital (as of 2023).

– The extended family uses the term sauteli as an insult. Ragini learns that in Hindi folklore, stepmothers are always cast as villains (referencing Cinderella via Indian Parīkathā ). She decides to break the cycle by not forcing affection.