The city of Bradford is now a place on maps of Pakistan. But it is not Pakistan. Saleem must travel back to visit his ailing mother. It is not a trip home, exactly, because 'home' is a hard concept for a man who was sent as a boy into involuntary exile in that bitch of a country called England.

Saleem's story moves abruptly between high comedy and tragedy. Life and death, love and laughter conflict and interplay. We meet a host of characters, some living by the old traditions, others emancipated and radical. Lives separated by what feel like centuries and by thousands of miles remain intricately connected. The present makes sense only if one journeys into the past. While There Is Light explores the life of a young and looks deep into the fabric of British society itself. Saleem faces problems due to the colour of his skin; solutions to those problems are not skin deep. In While There is Light the issue of racism and criminalisation in Britain are hurdles that one man must clear in his personal journey for redemption.