The foundation of Deven and Murad’s bond is their shared love for Urdu, whose one-time prominence and quick decline in postcolonial India are familiar subjects to any South Asian reader. Still, the Hindi-Urdu controversy can be difficult for uninitiated readers to understand because, on the one hand, Hindi and Urdu are almost exactly the same language, but on the other, they have significant political consequences and intense personal meaning for their speakers. Murad deliberately explains his dedication to Urdu in terms that associate Deven with Hindi, thereby putting him down. The crucial fact that Murad is Muslim, but Deven is Hindu, adds insult to injury. But Deven points out that his job as a Hindi teacher is just further proof of Urdu’s decline—if there were opportunities in Urdu, after all, he would be teaching it.