Summary

Part Two, “The Yamuna Years”, tells the story of Chand’s life in Delhi after he left Teetarpur as a teenager. After arriving in Delhi, Chand finds work on a building site. He shares a tiny room with a man named Khalid. Khalid has a wife, Rabia, who lives elsewhere in the city because their boarding house only admits single men. The savings Chand brought with him from home quickly start to dwindle. Khalid sees Chand sifting through trash looking for food. Khalid tells Chand about a job at a friend’s butcher shop. Chand gets the job and begins working there as a cleaner. Chand is Hindu and the butcher is owned by a Muslim named Badshah Miyan. Chand quickly improves the cleanliness of the butcher shop and makes suggestions to Badshah Miyan, such as purchasing new buckets and more vinegar...