Salesman Nasir lives a contended life with his mother Fatima, wife Taj and nephew Iqbal in a closely populated ghetto. Employed in an apparel shop at the heart of a busy city, the middle aged Nasir is a hard worker. He speaks humorously and makes others laugh. He is also endowed with a half-baked philosophical attitude, so he likes poetry. On Sundays he composes poems along the lines of Hindi film songs of the sixties and launches them in front of his co-workers. When he recites his poems, he starts with his right hand placed over his chest and with wave-like motions nearly brushing the noses of the listeners. He smokes ten Beedis a day and drinks four cups of tea. He goes for his midday prayers occasionally.
Nasir's chronicle emerges through the detailed observation of his vicinity over the span of one particular day. As his day unfolds we find him to be a nimble romantic, marshaling a love of love, song, children, friendship, and even God to rise into something resembling a life well lived. But the increasing communal bigotry has other plans.