Firozsha Baag

A crumbling apartment complex in Bombay, Firozsha Baag is the common setting for most of the stories in this collection. The vast majority of the residents are Parsis (Zoroastrians); there is one Muslim, and he is ostracized. Most of the tenants are low-paid bank clerks and bookkeepers, but each building (or Block) boasts a celebrity: A Block a prominent dustoorji (priest), B Block a chartered accountant, and C Bock, a veterinarian, Dr. Mody. Vendors (wallis) of various sorts wander through in the afternoon, after the 1-3 PM naptime, selling wares. The watchman at the gate keeps them out other times. Their services minimize the need to enter rough Tar Gully nearby to buy necessities. The B.E.S.T. buses thunder by, drowning out all other sounds.

With the exception of a short time when Dr. Mody pushes for improvements, the trustees of the building refuse...