Although the periodical had fairly low circulation figures, it became common for monks to read out sections during sermons and other public events, as Khmer people would enjoy this new form of literature as "listening to newspapers" (sdap-kaset).
[9] In the context of a fast-changing urban society in Cambodian cities influenced by the Western world and the modernization of the royal Khmer court, the main question asked by this series of narratives could be condensed as: "how to behave as good Khmer Buddhists and moral persons, and simultaneously, how to purify themselves in the context of everyday life in a modernizing world"?
[10] To do this, Khmer teachers innovated through their translation and teaching methods which also encourage the dissemination of knowledge on a larger scale, particularly to lay people, through printed rather than handwritten textual productions.
[12] Khmer writer Tauch Chhuong explains how the Gatilok, one of the major works of Ind, meticulously describes life in Battambang during the era of Governor Kathathan Chhum.
[13] Hansen explains that in addition to outlining the contours of moral conduct applicable to lay people, Gatilok is intended to be a means for Ind to offer social criticism.
The theme is taken up in Ind's famous collection of stories, Gatilok, particularly in the tale of the "Oknya who smoked opium who used his influence to harm inhabitants of the region".