Nice simple engaging stories. There is tension, there is almost always an occasion - it's a b'day or the king is arriving or Durga Puja is about to start or there is a music convert but there is not too much drama. The central plot points are simple. Many stories have strong female characters.
Subhadra Sen Gupta easily conjures up the atmosphere in these historical stories, making you feel as if you were there with the characters. It is hard to say how since there are no elaborate descriptions of surroundings and things.
Also aquiline is her favorite word for describing faces. I think in every story there are at least couple of people with an aquiline face. :-)
A collection of historical short stories. We relive the extraordinary lives of some of our greats as well as some ordinary people. King Ashoka, Lord Budha, Shahjahan, boatmen, temple dancers and painters etc. are some of the protagonists. I think i liked it. Somehow felt calm and happy at the end of most of the stories!