This is a collection of true stories related to the lives of people before India became independent in 1947. In a few stories the narrative continues beyond India's independence. The stories are based on memories of authors, which we know are sometimes fuzzy and selective. The purpose of collecting the stories in this book is to convey a sense of life as it happened during those years. So no story is about known political leaders or celebrities. The collection includes stories of several families who were forced by the Partition of Punjab to move from what became Pakistan to India. There's one family that moved from India to Pakistan. However, the book does not have any story about the Partition itself.