Apart from “The Letter,” which was published in 1969, the remaining eleven stories in Breaking Dreams were written between 2021 to 2024. Seven of the other stories have also been published earlier, in print or online journals as well as in anthologies. Combining fact and fiction in her stories, the writer depicts love and loss in people’s lives while tracing political and social changes over the last seventy years. What happens when a bride is chosen by the prospective bridegroom’s father who is only allowed to glance at the girl’s fair hands? Is high social status enough to guarantee a happy marriage? How important is language for a compatible marriage? In what ways have marriages changed during the last seven decades? Is there any guarantee for a happy marriage? What secrets might an old woman have that cannot be told by her daughter to her children? Why does a mother stop her mother from telling stories of Hindi movies to her children? How do political changes affect ordinary human beings? In 1971, many persons were forced to cooperate with the enemy for various reasons. Does this make them collaborators? The writer does not ask deep, philosophical questions, but does suggest that appearances may be deceptive and even ordinary human beings might have complicated and interesting histories.