A fable set in the chaos of Bombay, The Cripple and His Talismans marks the emergence of a unique, engaging voice. By turns philosophical, funny, violent, and tender, The Cripple and His Talismans tells the many-layered, surreal story of an amputee in search of his lost arm. Alienated from his privileged upbringing by his handicap, the unnamed narrator sets off on his quest. He encounters bizarre and fascinating characters: a beggar who lives under an egg cart; a leper who bites off his own finger and presents it to the cripple; a lady who sells rainbows; a blind man who cannot go to the bathroom unless he hears the sound of a train; and a mysterious coffin-maker.

The cripple soon becomes a riddle-solver, and the trail of clues inevitably leads him to a godlike character named Baba Rakhu—a master of the underworld who procures and sells lost limbs. From Baba, the narrator learns the story of his lost arm and a new maxim: that the world cannot be changed by ending suffering, but by a more judicious distribution of it.