Love in Chakiwara and Other Misadventures

A small Karachi neighbourhood, Chakiwara is humdrum and unspectacular to all appearances. But inside its shops and at the street corners, there is curious business afoot.

Chronicling the drama that unfolds daily is Iqbal Hussain Changezi, bakery owner and collector of writers and geniuses. He has his eyes on out-of-work comedian Chakori, apprentice to a Chinese dentist, even as the...