Synopsis This book is English translation of selected Oriya short stories of Sahitya Akademi and Sarawati Samman award recipient J P Das. Stories in this collection map the relation between writing and social power as they operate in a provincial milieu. Wry, clipped, and clinical, these stories show J P Das at his ironic, debunking and self-reflective best. With an unusual take on social relations and values, the stories are shot through with a fine sense of self-consciousness that is seemingly at odds with the self-reflective and objective manner in which they are written.