Footsteps in the West

This work contains narrative sketches of characters based on observation and the author's experience on India and the West. The opening chapters of the book give an account of the author's life as a member of an orthodox Hindu family and an old-fashioned community in Mumbai (Bombay), before he came to the UK in 1968 at the age of 28 in search of work as a civil engineer. In later chapters, the reader follows the process of Desai's gradual integration into modern British society. He emphasizes the importance of Asians integrating into British society without losing their own identity or culture, and concludes that a progressive religion is essential to counterbalance the influence of materialism and to avoid conflicts resulting from religious intolerance.