These stories, written originally in Hindi, reveal an author who can think and create in two languages with rare fluency. With her faultless ear for the cadences of Hindustani, Sara Rai illuminates the life of small towns with details which perhaps only a bilingual writer would pick up on. Equally important to her in the landscape of human lives is the presence of trees, birds, insects, and fish. Her Zen-like meditations on the silent yet profound movements of this world are presented in a language that is pared down, spare, and evocative. She remains unseen, but her presence animates each of her characters, whether it be Surabhi from ‘Catfish’, the eponymous Nabila, or Sour Face and Shrew from ‘Golden Anniversary’. The stories are presented here in a lucid translation by Ira Pande and the author.