A Grain of Mustard Seed is set during the partition of the Indian landscape into India and Pakistan. The book recounts catastrophic events that took place after the creation of these two conflicting states. The story is about the narrator’s father and his friendship with Mahdar Iqbal, a Muslim. When her father used to work as a jeweler, he struck a friendship with Iqbal who worked as a shoe designer and maker. Since the narrator’s father was wealthy, he decides to help his friend who was struggling financially.
The narrator’s father directs more opportunities to Iqbal’s lap which aids him in his success. Despite their cultural and religious differences, their friendship is filled with a lot of respect and honor as they both believed in setting the world right. When the partition is enacted into law, Hindus living in the new Pakistan are forced to leave without any of their accumulated wealth. The narrator’s father is a Hindu, he desperately attempts to flee an angry mob of Muslims who are violently kicking them out of what has been their home for generations.
Iqbal surprisingly happens to be one of the mobsters who rudely confronts the narrator’s father. Iqbal violently mocks and abuses his dear friend in an attempt to protect him from other mob members who were hell-bent on physically harming Hindus. Iqbal secretly puts money and a letter in his friend's pocket as he throws him onto the train. Iqbal had so much love and respect for his friend that he made it his mission to ensure he left Pakistan safely.
The friendship of these two men from different backgrounds showcases a bond that transcends beyond all borders and thrives despite the circumstances. Through stories like these and others iIqbaln the collection, Pargeter explores the relationships between man and God, man and man, and the everlasting feeling of true friendship and love. Human acts of selflessness do make us more humane.
