A teenage boy wanders from village to village until a little girl ties down his free spirit, a wife writes a letter for the first time to her husband of fifteen years, telling him why she must leave him, and an old man attempts to reconcile his old heritage with his impoverished life......This fascinating collection from one of India's greatest writers explores the myriad shades of life in nineteenth century Bengal. It transports the reader to a world where patriarchy and strict social norms still ruled, and women struggled to find a place for themselves. But as these stories show, it was also a world in transition, from the rural to the urban, from stagnant traditions to the joys of individual freedom.These new translations by Sipra Bhattacharya retain the spirit and flavour of the original tales even as they recreate the timeless world of Tagore.