Kumar Ambuj has carved a niche for himself by relating his life experiences through his stories. Ambuj is basically a poet. Ichhayen (Desires) is his first collection of stories that makes it clear that he has been able to break new ground in this form as well. The collection consists of 15 stories, most of which are short stories. The longer stories like Ek apratyashit rog ki vyatha and Sansar ke Ashcharya have been divided into parts and feel like artistic anthology of several short stories.
The first story of the collection Hakla, written in first person, is not just an account of a stammerers life experiences and complexities but also tries to explore the process and circumstances that lead to stammering and explains that the physical and genetic factors play a very small part in making a person stutterer.
The causes rather lie in social pressures. Ma rasoi mein rahtee hai, Apratyashit rog ki katha, Sanak are stories that underline such propensities of our society and expose its ironies. Stories like Ek din Manna Dey and Main tumhara kaam nahin karna chahta do the same in a different style.