Intricately woven stories in this collection are as varied as life itself-from the bond of friendship between an old washer-man and a little girl to the affection of a foul-mouthed but generous old woman for a young boy, from the story of humble villagers building a rickety bamboo fort to ward off a heavily armed gang to that of an honest and hardworking man made to become an unwilling witness to a midair scientific experiment. Others tell stories of the traumatic experience of people living in the midst of terror. Some are yet intriguing stories of the prophecy of dying at the hands of a child who is born long after the death of both his parents and of a perplexing young admirer expressing his pent-up feelings for a senior lady anonymously.