Consisting of twelve fully illustrated short stories, the volume looks at the village and the small town in India - focal points offering Premchand a fascinating stage for the interplay of diverse personalities; Human suffering, crushing poverty, and brutal exploitation by landowners and moneylenders; caste snobbery; gender discrimination; the victory of renunciation over selfish temptation; the close comnpanionship of man and animal; the unpredictable nature of human behaviour - Premchand explores these and much more with his characteristic originality of thought and clarity of vision.