The main protagonist, however, remains Gopal Pandey — the chaiwallah who is caught up in each turbulent event that strikes at the heart of the precarious communal and caste relations in Chandni Chowk, which is like a microcosm of India. Pandey too is manipulated by events and people, till he is built up by a fascinated journalist into a political leader, even though he has little understanding of politics.

The Peacock Throne, in this case, of course, refers to the throne of political power in modern India, and this book should not be confused with the historical tome of the same name. There have been very few novels about contemporary politics so far which have been written with the same depth and verve that Saraf has imbued his book with. It soaks in the smells and tastes of Chandni Chowk — and the vast sweep of events and characters is ever more interesting as the author has been able to inject a wry humour into his writing.

The only slightly disconcerting elements are the spellings of words — Ludhiana is spelt as Ludhiyana, Paranthewali Gali is called Paratha Gali — but these are small errors given the enjoyable, intricately woven expanse of a novel which comments on modern India and, much to our relief, does not resort to magical realism whilst doing so.