List of Characters
Some of the characters and place names in this book are pseudonyms, in order to preserve anonymity.
Vinod Bhatt (b. 1988). Resident of Anand. Student of rural management. Vinod’s family lived in a residential quarter adjacent to Ismail Nagar. After 2002, they moved out of this quarter to a Hindu-majority housing society near Ganesh Chokdi in Anand.
Amrapali Merchant (1944–2014). Professor of Sociology at the Sardar Patel University in Anand.
Mr. Parmar (b. 1963). Teacher. Resident of a Christian housing society in Gamdi. After 2002, he and his nuclear family moved to the campus area of Vallabh Vidyanagar, while his elderly mother stayed in Gamdi.
Samir Vahora (b. 1975). Resident of Baltimore, previous resident of Nadiad, regular visitor of Anand. He migrated from Gujarat to the United States as a teenager, with his parents. In 2011, he started a transport company in Anand.
Shahinben Vahora (b. 1956). English teacher in a Catholic secondary school in Gamdi. Resident of Anand, who grew up and married in Anand. Her two sons moved to Australia, and she and her husband followed them there in 2012. They still live in Australia.
Siraj Vahora (b. 1966). From Tarapur; resident of Anand. Lawyer. Married to Rakeem Vahora (b. 1971), from Kheda: housewife and student of English. Their eldest son, Adam (b. 1992), is a lawyer, and their youngest daughter, Zakiya (b. 1999), is an engineering student.
Vasim Vahora (b. 1985). From Kanjari; resident of Anand. Lived as a student in London for two years; returned to Anand in 2011 to become a real estate broker, working beside his father in the family business.
Ahmad Vohra (b. 1966). From Boriavi, Gujarat; resident of London. Born in Gujarat, grew up in Mumbai, moved to the United Kingdom in 1973. Customs officer. Had been active in organizing social activities for Vohras in London. He was a regular visitor to both Mumbai and Anand, and bought a flat in Anand for these recurrent visits.
Faridaben Vohra (b. 1947). Lives with her joint family household, including Farhan Vohra, her twenty-two-year-old cousin, in a village in central Gujarat. They hope to move to Anand in the future, following the other Muslims of the village—when the time is ripe.
Ibrahim Vohra (b. 1975). A mechanical engineer who grew up in London. Married to Salma Vohra (b. 1976), who moved to the United Kingdom from a village in Gujarat after her marriage. Salma and Ibrahim reside in west London with their children.
Idris Vohra (b. 1974). From Anand. Resident of a town in west Sussex, United Kingdom. Grew up in Anand; moved to the UK in 1999. Taxi driver and factory worker in the United Kingdom; real estate broker and trader in Gujarat.
Yousuf Vohra (1946–2013). From Sunav; resident of London. Born in Gujarat; moved to the British colony of Tanganyika in 1951, and to the United Kingdom in 1965. Regular visitor of Anand.