Gharadiha deals with a period of about 20 years, from 1942 to 1961, that is beginning from the time of Quit India Movement to the Chinese aggression. The novel seeks to give an account of the changes during that period which disrupted the traditional pattern of village-life, as a result of which not only did the human character change but also the basic values of the village were sought to be redefined, leading to the threat of disintegration of village-life. The hero, a common villager who left the village twenty years ago in search of employment, returns to find everything changed - his land gone, his wife gone - himself a destitute and a victim of exploitation, and is forced to undergo almost an ordeal of fire. It received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1987.