Basharat and his family are Indian Muslims who have relocated to Pakistan, but who remain deeply steeped in the nostalgia of pre-Partition life in India. Through absurd anecdotes and unforgettable biographical sketches which hide the deeper unease and sorrow of the family's journey from Kanpur to Karachi Basharet emerges as a wise fool, and the host of this unique sketch comedy. From humorous scenes in colonial north India, to the heartbreak and homesickness of post-colonial life in Pakistan, the novel forms an authentic portrait of life among South Asia's Urdu speakers.