Synopsis The stories presented here bring to life the face of Bengal as it was at the beginning of the 20th century. In these stories the reader will meet the poverty and the attraction of the quiet countryside-the gentry, the peasants, the women-folk and the boys of a close-knit society. Perhaps he will also share the happiness of the truant boys roaming about the fields in gay abandon in a glorious summer morning in Bengal. Here are some stories involving ghosts and spirits, which had a stronger appeal when they were written about half a century ago than they do in this electronic age. Some stories are set in the city of Kolkata where the author had been a school teacher for many years. BIBHUTIBHUSAN BANDYOPADHYAY (1894-1954) is recognized today as one of the most significant novelists of the post-Tagorean period. Besides novels of enduring quality such as Pather Panchali, Aparajita and Aranyak, he has given us stories of varied range and quality. All his writings are marked by a sense of pity for the deprived and the humble.