What kind of a place is Kritam?

The village of Kritam, where “A Horse and Two Goats” is set, is a very small place—“probably the tiniest”—in India. This “microscopic dot” on the map has only four streets and fewer than 30 houses. The only wealthy person lives in the garishly-painted brick Big House, while the poor masses live in houses or huts made of mud, thatch, or similar materials. There is a weekly market, and on the third street, there is a shop. On the village outskirts are fields where the villagers graze their animals. Water is in short supply, and the villagers are generally dependent on the Big House inhabitants to let them use their well. The highway is a few miles away and is reached by a dirt track. Bullock-drawn carts are the mode of transportation, and the people apparently own no cars. At the village’s edge is a pedestal holding a statue of a warrior on a horse.