'An icon in Hindi literature'-The Hindu

The braid of young Basanti's life thickens with time. Feisty and fearless, she plays hide and seek with her overbearing father, dodges the crippled old tailor whom she's sold to and elopes with a handsome young man. Unwilling to let anyone suppress her spirit, she even rejects the benevolence of Shyama bibi, her confidante and employer.
With the thunderous clap of demolition of a basti in Delhi and a complex understanding of the confluence of classes, renowned writer Bhisham Sahni gives voice, laughter and resolve to a persona who might have otherwise coursed silently away through the veins of this megacity.