A mother watches as her daughter, intent upon cleaning the house, tries to throw away a cherished piece of embroidered cloth; a father realizes that age is catching up with him when his children's plans no longer include him; a rape victim tries to settle into a life without her husband; a serf finds the courage to stand up to the indignities he has to face; a whole village is targeted as the armed forces come looking for a single insurgent. As the River Flows brings together some of the finest contemporary short stories from Assam which rank along with the best of Indian literature. With the wide variety of styles and content, these stories give us a glimpse into the lives of those living beside the Brahmaputra. Spanning from the 1950s to the present, this collection presents an eclectic mix of well-known stories by writers who set the tone of modern Assamese stories as also those who have gained from their pioneering efforts.