Farahad Zama Books in Order

Bored with retirement, Mr Ali opens a marriage bureau in the South Indian town of Vizag. As the business prospers, his assistant Aruna faces a painful romantic dilemma, while the matchmaker discovers that giving advice is easier than following it.

Mr Ali’s marriage bureau thrives, but his son’s secret romance with a Hindu journalist threatens family harmony. Meanwhile, assistant Aruna’s new married life becomes difficult when her spiteful sister-in-law moves in, testing love against powerful family expectations.

A wealthy aristocrat’s unexpected proposal to widowed single mother Pari raises questions at Mr Ali’s marriage bureau. As the family considers the match, political unrest and campaigns for social change bring new tensions into their lives.

A road-widening scheme threatens Mrs Ali’s home and the family marriage bureau, while her niece’s adoption of a Hindu boy provokes community opposition. With the family facing police and social pressure, one desperate plan offers a chance to preserve both households.

These short stories range from an ordinary household to Stone Age Africa and Germany in 1923. Encounters with obligation, kindness, ambition and uncomfortable truths connect people across different settings, including a young Gandhi helping a bullied boy.