Purana Shehr is a small town with a celebrated madhouse, tea-house type Chhalawa Hotel and laid-back lifestyle. It is shaken out of its opiate mood when a termite epidemic almost brings life to a standstill. The people of Topee Mohalla, a part of Purana Shehr, exhaust themselves in their efforts to end the termite onslaught. As the termites eat away maniacally at almost everything they can, we become acquainted with some of the inhabitants and their relationships and intrigues - Salar Jang, an eccentric, rich old man, shopping around for a bride; Mirzban Yunani, an absent-minded genius researching the evolution of eternity; Bano Tamanna, the industrious wife of Mirzban, and daughter of Salar; Muneemji, Salar's factotum and Bano's guardian; Mushtri Khanum, the attractive, mischievous younger sister of Mirzban; and Ladlay Qalabaz, a wily lawyer who is Mushtri's lover, and after Salar's money. Chaos ensues in Purana Shehr where to destroy the termites people try methods both holy and unholy, and slowly realise the futility of their attempts. A delightful and very funny first novel.