Story of dreams, desire, moral dilemma and misplaced optimism in the time of political voilence and social upheaval.
Set against the backdrop of the destruction of Babri Mosque and its aftermaths, it is the story of Arif, a lower middle class Muslim boy from a small town India. Arif aspires to join the coveted Indian Administrative service. He has been pursuing his dream with a missionary zeal until a middle-aged married Hindu woman, Sumitra, crosses his way and the course of his life is changed forever.
Culturally insightful with political undertones, it is actually three stories in one. One is simply the story of a boy – Arif, the central character, who deals with love, lust and ambitions as he goes through the painful process of growing up. The second is Arif’s story too, but it is also the story of a Muslim boy in particular, and this flows into a larger narrative of being a Muslim in post-Babri India, with its own challenges and anxieties. The third is the story of India itself, not the India that exists in the cities, but the India of villages and small towns.