Arzee the Dwarf

Arzee is a dwarf. He works in a cinema theatre as a projectionist. He has a vibrant mental life which is expressed in a proliferation of exclamation marks. He has a special spot on his daily walk to work where he communes with the world. He owes money to some hoods. Then to make matters worse, he loses his job. The theatre in which he works is to close down. Phiroze, the chief projectionist, does not seem to have noticed. He is far too busy organising the marriage of his daughter who is blind. Meanwhile, Arzee knows that the Noor has already become The No. “If you halted to buy a cigarette and glanced at the Noor as you lit up, you found it was saying NO. And if someone you knew stopped to exchange a few words with you, then above his head the Noor was saying NO.” Like that. Then it is to be no more. Arzee’s world begins to shake and tremble. But he’s not a Gandhi for nothing. Gandhi is his surname. Only it’s not. And so on.