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Kehkashan
Abdul’s younger brother, who dislikes working with garbage and hopes to have a clean job working as a waiter in a hotel. Mirchi is able to continue school past ninth grade, a privilege Abdul envies. Mirchi’s good life, relative to Abdul’s hardship, is an emblem of the slum residents’ hope that, as time goes on, their community will have more opportunities and better lives.
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Mirchi Character Timeline in Behind the Beautiful Forevers
The timeline below shows where the character Mirchi appears in Behind the Beautiful Forevers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue: Between Roses
...better their lives immediately without waiting to be reincarnated into a better status. Abdul’s brother, Mirchi, is one of these people. Mirchi dreams of working at a luxury hotel as a...
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Chapter 1: Annawadi
...looking out for stray goats who might try to steal his bottles. In the afternoon, Mirchi gets home from school and waits for his friend Rahul to tell him about his...
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...from India’s poorer north. Even though the Husains are both northern and Muslim, Rahul and Mirchi have a fast friendship. Abdul envies this closeness, as Abdul has only one casual friend,...
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Zehrunisa comes out of the hut and scolds Mirchi for talking instead of studying. Education is important to the Husains, especially because they must...
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...report anything. Abdul thinks that India still maintains a strict class system, no matter what Mirchi thinks about progress. Abdul is just happy to keep working with garbage, as this job...
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Chapter 4: Manju
In the Husain house, Mirchi is annoyed at all the noise the crowd is making in the street as he...
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Chapter 5: Ghost House
...But then they stop – giving children a welcome respite from staying inside. Zehrunisa watches Mirchi play, trying not to think about how Mirchi has failed 9th grade, Karam is in...
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...Abdul’s, and Zehrunisa has talked to the family of a scrap dealer in Saki Naka. Mirchi is eager for marriage, but Abdul is more cautious. Zehrunisa thinks that marriage will finally...
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Chapter 8: The Master
...only sees the rain washing his profitable garbage away. The Husain family also suffers, as Mirchi tries to take Abdul’s role but is not as adept at judging the worth of...
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Chapter 10: Parrots, Caught and Sold
...Zehrunisa has no money for Karam’s bail now that the garbage business has collapsed under Mirchi’s direction. Abdul sighs, knowing the hard work ahead of him trying to rebuild their recycling...
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Chapter 15: Ice
One afternoon after the trial, Abdul, Mirchi, Zehrunisa and Karam consider the trash left in the storeroom. They have to sell it...
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As the family recycling business fails, Mirchi has been forced to take any job available, so he works construction and loads a...
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Chapter 17: A School, a Hospital, a Cricket Field
...one of the younger Husain brothers drops out of school to work temp jobs with Mirchi.
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