Synopsis This collection is unique in that it combines journalistic essays with fiction, effectively overcoming the usual disjunctions between narrative genres. Through her passionate writing Agnihotri compels the reader to reflect on the many levels of the reality of socio-economic development in India, and what this means for the poor and marginalized. This volume contains translations of selected prose writings by Anita Agnihotri, originally written in Bengali between 1992-96. During this period she traveled extensively in tribal areas in the course of her work as an officer of the Indian Administrative Service. The short stories, essays and novella included here reflect her efforts to understand the Indian reality from the point of view of the women and men for whom survival means a daily struggle against almost insurmountable odds.